Rise of The Dollmaker
by Lord Wolfe
Summary: The sequel to Tale of The Magic Prince. A serial killer has taken up residence in Sango's kingdom, bodies found in bizarre states and forms. The only one who can help her deal with this is the magically gifted prince himself. InuYasha senses something odd about the killer's victims, something familiar.
1. Chapter 1

**RISE OF THE DOLLMAKER**

 **CHAPTER 1: NIGHTMARES OF THE PAST AND PRESENT**

The prince and lord of Lunaria walked down the stone path of the cemetery dressed in black mourning robes. His destination, the royal crypt. Unlocking the doors he walked in and made his way to his father's tomb. Inuyasha approached his dad's final resting place and set the flowers down in front of it. His mother stood behind him offering a silent prayer. He had almost forgot that she was there, so lost in his own thoughts.

"To think it's been five years only", Izayoi said next to her son.

"Feels longer", Inuyasha said solemnly. Five years ago his great and strong father was killed in a most terrible way. Ryukotsei, a trusted friend, ally, and once commander of Lunaria's army secretly poisoned the king then lead a rebellion against the kingdom with a group of rogues from another land while the country was leaderless. Inuyasha took control, stopped the invasion. When he stood over the defeated Ryukotsei, the man just laughed and confessed that he was the one who assassinated the prince's father. Instead of killing the bastard Inuyasha used his power to turn him into a large hideous dragon and had him chained up deep under the mountains.

After a few more quite solemn minutes in front of the late king's grave, his son and wife left the crypt, locking it shut behind them. As they left the cemetery they were accosted by a group of citizens from the city. Inuyasha tried to ignore them, not at all in the mood to deal with these people today.

"We offer our condolences your highness and milady", one particular bold citizen bowed.

"Thank you", Izayoi said. Inuyasha didn't say anything, the wound of his father's death always felt as fresh as the day it happened on the anniversary. Lately he had been feeling the pressure of managing the kingdom and the near constant pleas of the citizens that wanted to be transfigured into more attractive visages was only worsening his mood. Inuyasha had never been one to act much on his anger, his father taught him better than that, but he was getting close to his tipping point.

"Is everything alright my lord?" Another bold citizen asked seeing that Lord Inuyasha had yet to speak a word. The prince didn't respond and began walking away, however was stopped by an obviously very thick man who couldn't read the situation.

"My Lord, it's been a while since you've accepted our audience", Inuyasha recognized this man, he was the newly appointed mayor of the city that he ruled over. Basically a representative of the regular citizens that met with the Lord to discuss any grievances or problems that the people had. He had no real power and was just an elected figure head.

"I won't be transfiguring anyone for a while", Inuyasha said flatly, the people didn't know how much of a toll it took on his spirit whenever he used his power on other people. Having to look into another person's soul and, what they wanted to look like, feeling their inner most wants and desires, and then transforming their physical form based on that, was not as easy as it sounds.

"But my lord, my daughter is about to turn eight years of age and I was hoping for her birthday that you could make her look beautiful", the mayor pleaded.

"Are you saying that you think your own daughter isn't beautiful?" Inuyasha asked with disdain.

"Oh no, she's quite lovely, but I was hoping she could become even more beautiful through your power my lord", the man said with a smile. Inuyasha scoffed at that. The nerve of this man, here he was trying to mourn the loss of his dear father and this man could only think about what he and his family could gain.

"We'll see", Inuyasha said trying to placate the man enough so he could be left alone for the rest of his trip back to the castle. Unfortunately the people around him misinterpreted his response and assumed that it meant that he would return to transfiguring people into what they desired. They surrounded his highness and began asking, or more accurately demanding.

"Could you make my son into a handsome young man that no woman could resist?" One man that got a little too close to the lord asked.

"What about me? I could stand to lose a few wrinkles", a woman shoved her way forward to stand in front of the crowd. Inuyasha was extremely uncomfortable surrounded by so many demanding citizens. No one seemed to notice that he looked like he was going to be sick.

"Please if you could just leave me…", the prince said calmly only to cut off by a very loud man.

"My wife needs some years taken off! I want her to look like she used to!" He shouted.

"If everyone could just let me…", Inuyasha tried to get through the crowd but they wouldn't move. He couldn't even hear what they were demanding anymore, it was like an ocean of screaming voices at this point.

"I want to look as good as my brother!"

"Just leave me be…", Inuyasha still tried to remain calm, but his temper was hanging on by a thread.

"Can I look as beautiful as a doll?"

"I wish to look like my teenage daughter!"

"Enough", Inuyasha said quietly.

"What about my daughter, I still haven't gotten your answer!", the mayor shouted over the other yelling citizens. Inuyasha finally had it, he singled out the mayor in his rage filled haze.

"I said…ENOUGH!" With a scream the prince fired his magic from his hand as a red lightning bolt. The mayor was knocked off his feet when he was hit by such powerful magic. The crowd went silent in shock at what just occurred. When the mayor stood back up, it was no longer on human feet. He had no feet anymore, he now resembled a big gross gray slug man. The people gasped in horror at this hideous monstrosity.

"You selfish!" Inuyasha through his magic at the terrified citizens transforming them at random into disgusting visages. "Vain!" He marched through the crowd tossing his power at them as he walked. "Greedy!" Some tried to run but were caught and turned into large rodent faced abominations. "Thoughtless wretches!" Once everyone was transfigured and crying over the hideous things they had become the prince decided to leave them, but not before putting up the hood attached to his robe, hiding most of his face from view.

Despite finally unleashing his pain onto the people that caused it, most of his disdain and anger did not subside in the least, in fact it only increased. His mother followed and could only watch in sadness at her poor son finally breaking from the over use of his transfiguration ability. On his way back to the castle Inuyasha's magical power spilled out all around him like a flood, twisting and warping the land, trees, and building in his vicinity.

When Inuyasha reached his castle he completely ignored the servants and stomped his way to the highest tower. Even the castle's architecture began to change, becoming sharper and more menacing. He stood on the balcony of the tower overlooking the kingdom as dark clouds formed and churned in the skies above him. In his fury he screamed out at the top of his lungs, all the pain and despair had at last caught up to him. As he shouted out his wrath Inuyasha's power gathered around him in a red swirling vortex and shot into the heavens like a spear. A few claps of thunder later it started to rain. This was no ordinary rain though, each drop was infused with his power. All who lived in the kingdom the rain touched would be transfigured into the vile creatures he viewed them as.

The calm and happy prince that believed in peace was no more and the cold, anger filled lord of Lunaria was born.

"Inuyasha", who's voice is that?

"Inuyasha, wake up", who's there?

"Inuyasha", someone called his name again with a warm hand on his face. Inuyasha opened his eyes seeing a concerned Kagome hovering over him as he lay on his back, silvery hair splayed around him. "You were tossing and turning. Were you having a nightmare?" She asked. They were both completely nude on his large bed, with the blanket covering everything from his waist down and Kagome using it to cover her exposed body.

"Yeah", He laid his arm over his sweaty forehead. Kagome gently placed her hand over his toned chest.

"Your heart's beating pretty fast", she commented.

"That's because a beautiful woman is touching me", Inuyasha joked giving her a small smile.

"Cute as ever", Kagome smiled while laying her head down on his chest in an effort to relax him. "What was your dream about?" Inuyasha stared at her for a moment before sighing and looking away.

"A really bad day I had once", he answered remembering that day he turned dark and cold. Inuyasha thought about how lucky he was right now. If not for Kagome entering his life he would still be like that today. "What time is it?"

"I think it's almost sunrise", Kagome said snuggling into his body hoping they could sleep a little longer. No such luck as Inuyasha was already wide awake and decided to go ahead and get ready for the day. After they took a bath together Kagome laid out their outfits. Inuyasha told her that she didn't have to be his assistant anymore, that she could have any job in the castle she wanted, but Kagome insisted that she continue her normal duties, enjoying how close she got to be with him during the day.

"See you in a few minutes", Inuyasha said giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. He was dressed in a black dress shirt, dark red pants and matching vest. Kagome kept saying how good he looked in red.

"Ayame is bringing your breakfast this time, try to be nice", Kagome said taking the sheets. It was normally required that the head of the kitchen staff was to bring the lord his breakfast in the mornings. Ayame was so nervous her first month on the job that she sent someone else to bring his meal, which would normally be disrespectful but Inuyasha understood why she was nervous so he let it slide. Even Koga told him to give Ayame a break.

After breakfast Inuyasha and Kagome walked to his personal office. First thing he went through was the mail where he discovered an interesting couple of envelopes. A letter came from Queen Sango saying how much she enjoyed his presence last week at her brother's wedding, also apologizing for spying on him while he stayed at her castle. Inuyasha wrote a response accepting her apology, not really caring though. He already knew her invitation was merely a ploy to get on his good side and eventually establish an alliance between their two kingdoms. An alliance Inuyasha wasn't sure he wanted yet. One thing he was sure of though is that he had absolutely no interest in an alliance with Jutaria, the country to the south of his.

Speaking of which, the next letter was from the parliament of Jutaria, specifically from the man he met in Queensland. Miroku his name was, his letter was similar to Sango's, saying what a pleasure it was to meet him, the usual ass kissing. His letter also contained and apology for the bad blood between their countries and wished to invite him to Jutaria so the rest of the parliament could apologize to him in person. Inuyasha scoffed at that and wrote his response, refusing to meet with them. They refused to send aid decades ago when his kingdom was in danger, despite being allies in the past. Inuyasha personally tore up the treaty himself after Ryukotsei and his army was defeated and sent the pieces to Jutaria as a message telling them in a more symbolic way 'Go to hell'.

"You know you could at least go to Jutaria to hear their apology in person", Kagome said watching him write an aggressive letter to this Miroku person.

"I'm sorry Kagome, but this is something I will not budge on", Inuyasha said while he continued to write.

"I'm not trying to convince you to be friends with them, but what if they truly are sorry for what their grandparents did?" Kagome brought up an interesting point, but Inuyasha just chuckled at that.

"Kagome, I love you, but the political world doesn't work like that", he said putting his letter in an envelope. "That Miroku person has probably already told his parliament about my abilities and now they want me as an ally to either use me and my people as a weapon against their enemies or at the very least to keep my power from being turned against them", Kagome looked at him sadly, his argument made pretty good logical sense. "Trust me when I say that they are not truly sorry, but they'll say and do anything necessary to get me on their side".

"Well what about Queen Sango?" Kagome asked wondering if it was the same with her.

"Of course she wants the same thing, but she's more subtle about it", Inuyasha said writing a response to Sango. "I don't have any issues with her or her kingdom, but as it stands I'm not looking for an alliance with anyone right now", his country just became accessible to the world again and he had a hard time trusting people that he didn't know.

"What if they take offense to your rejection?" Kagome asked with concern.

"I don't really care what they think of me", Inuyasha said almost immediately. "I've got more important things to worry about, like making a guest list for our wedding", Kagome laughed at his playful remark.

"I don't recall saying yes yet", she said with a mischievous smile. She remembered his proposal, it was only just a week ago. She didn't say no, but she didn't say yes, what she told him was that she needed time to say yes. Kagome wore the hand crafted ring he gave her as a sign that she still loved him very much even though she hadn't agreed to be his wife yet.

"Yet being the word here, I don't think it will take long to win you over", Inuyasha smiled at her.

"I'm not that easy", she said back playfully.

"No your just really stubborn", if that wasn't the pot calling the kettle black than Kagome didn't know what was.

"So what are your plans for the future?" Kagome asked getting serious.

"Perhaps an alliance with Queensland would be beneficial, but I absolutely refuse align myself with Jutaria, it will be a cold day in hell before that happens", Inuyasha said getting angry at the last part.

The rest of the day passed like normal. Inuyasha finished his work, went around the castle to check up on things, and met with his second in command Koga. In the evening Inuyasha and Kagome had dinner together in the dining hall where they talked as if they'd know each other for years.

"When do think your mother will come visit again?" Kagome wondered already missing the former lady of the house.

"She likes to travel around, but she promised to come back frequently", Inuyasha said taking a sip from his wine. Kagome thought back to the story she eavesdropped that Izayoi told him when they were alone that day. Inuyasha and Izayoi got their power from their ancestors being blessed by the moon goddess. It made Kagome wonder if there were other descendants out there in the world.

"Inuyasha, do you think there might be other people out there like you?" she asked poking at her dessert.

"Like me how?" Inuyasha questioned taking another sip.

"You told me that the children of the moon are born from the original women that were blessed by the moon goddess. I was just wondering why no one has seen or heard of more of them around", Kagome brought up an interesting topic, that he had already thought of himself.

"Unfortunately", Inuyasha sighed looking away. "My mother wondered the same thing, but in her traveling and research she has yet to find another descendant in the world. They all died out a long time ago".

"That's so sad", Kagome was told by Izayoi how the women could only give birth to one child only. As if by cruel irony, each child was born female. According to his mother, Inuyasha is the only male ever born of their race and so is not cursed to only have one child.

"Maybe it's for the best", Inuyasha said looking at her seriously. "There's too many people out there in the world that would just manipulate and abuse their power towards their own benefit", Kagome looked at him sadly. While it was true that Inuyasha had changed a lot from when she first met him, he still harbored a bit of resentment towards people as a whole and didn't have much faith in them. "Perhaps its best there are no more people like me, our abilities put a lot of strain on our spirits and sometimes our minds. I'd hate to know that more children of the moon are out there suffering like I did", he said deciding he didn't want desert after all. Kagome looked at him lovingly while she gently took his hand. There were some more wounds in his heart that still needed healing.

SOMEWHERE FAR AWAY

That very evening the citizens of Queensland, the kingdom ruled by her majesty Queen Sango were out in the streets celebrating. The fall festival was a weeklong festival of entertainment and fun where people dressed up in costumes. And what luck that the traveling circus known across the lands as The Circus of Dreams would be here at the very capital of Queensland for the entire month of October. The giant tent was set up on the outskirts of the city along with the caravans, but the performers were allowed to parade on Main Street, with the queen's permission, and put on shows in the city square.

"Mommy can we get closer so I can see the clowns?", A sweet little girl asked her mother. She clutched her teddy bear tightly, she never went anywhere without her best friend.

"I'm sorry honey, this is as close as we can get", the mother said regretfully. They were in the back of a large crowd of people in the city square. A group of clowns that were part of the circus came and started putting on a funny show out in the open for everyone.

"Oh, that's okay mommy", the little girl looked sad, but accepted the fact that she would get to see any clowns up close today. Just then she heard the sound of bells jingling, it sounded awfully close. Turning to the left she spotted a white gloved hand sticking out of the nearby alley a couple yards away. The hand was holding a wooden stick with what looked like a kitty cat's head with golden bells for eyes on the end. The hand shook the stick again as the child smiled at the silly toy. Slowly a head poked itself out from behind the wall of the alley. It appeared to be a silly clown that made the girl giggle in joy at the ridiculously colored hair, painted face with a wide toothy grin and of course the big red nose. The clown nodded its head at her then quickly moved back into the alley taking the bell toy with it.

"Where are you going?" The girl asked as she walked towards the alley. Unfortunately her mother was distracted trying to spot her husband who got lost in the crowd, and didn't notice her small daughter wander off into an alley. The little girl wandered the back alleys looking for the clown, getting further and further away from the people. It was getting late, the sun had just gone down making it difficult to see. The child was starting to get scared with only the moonlight to guide her in the dark alley way and her teddy bear to give her comfort. She wanted to go home, she wanted to see her parents again. Before she began to panic she heard the jingling of bells again directly behind her. Whipping around she thought she would see the clown.

"What?" Instead of the clown it was a small bright red box with a tiny metal crank on the side just sitting there in the middle of the alley, but it wasn't there a moment ago. Common sense overridden by curiosity the little girl approached the box. When she was but a couple steps away she placed her teddy bear on the ground and took the remaining few steps forward then kneeled down to get a look at the box.

Gently gripping the small crank the child turned it a few times, hearing a pleasant melody with each turn. The little girl smiled and turned it a couple more times until…BAM! Out popped a jack in a box. To her surprise the jester on a spring suddenly came to life and started dancing around to the music play on the box making the girl giggle in excitement at the funny toy.

Behind the unsuspecting girl the clown stood stock still watching her be amused and more importantly distracted by his jack in a box. With a few silent twitches the clown's form and visage peeled and fell away revealing that it was nothing but a façade. The last thing to go was the colorful face, falling away like paper, now in place of the clown stood a tall hooded figure. It wore a brown tattered cloak with gray fur lining the inside, its face was hidden by a pale porcelain mask resembling a dolls face. Its pale long spider like fingers were covered in metal pieces that each held a different tool for each finger. Scissors, pliers, tweezers, needles, and surgical blades made the hands look horrifying and dangerous. Clicking every few seconds as his fingers twitched.

The stranger silently stalked towards the still clueless little girl. It paused when it spotted the child's teddy bear on the ground. The stranger tilted its head as if the stuffed animal sparked an idea. The girl finally noticed the bizarre clicking noise coming from right behind her and turned around wondering if someone dropped another toy.

The last thing she ever saw was a white mask face and two hands with fingers ending in bizarre tools lunging at her. No one could hear her short scream of terror over the laughter of the crowd in the streets, nor did they hear the woman shouting for her missing daughter.

* * *

 **The sequel to The Tale of the Magic Prince is up. Fair warning this one is going to be a bit darker than the first one. Pinch of murder dash of mystery sort of thing. That's why I wanted to post the first chapter in October.**

 **For those that might be confused, this takes place right after the trip to Queensland, before the last chapter in the first installment. Inuyasha hasn't allied himself with Sango's kingdom yet nor has he agreed to meet with Miroku's peers yet. And yes those two will have more of a role in this one than the last story where they just showed up towards the end.**

 **That last part was my attempt at writing horror. I don't know how Stephen King does it. Do you think clowns know they freak people out? And that's why they do it, for their own sadistic amusement.**

 **Anyway Thanks for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2: DOLLS ARE PRETTY?**

"What are we going to do about him?" A member of Jutaria's parliament asked aloud to his colleagues. The topic of discussion was of course the lord of the northern country. Inuyasha the supposed magic prince, they had been talking about him for a week now, ever since Miroku came back and gave his report. To say they were shocked, was an understatement. Some of the older members looked like they were going to have a stroke, when Miroku told them of the prince's power. The young knight was many things, but a liar was not one of them.

"Any proposals?" Another member asked. After nothing but silence, one rather arrogant member spoke.

"I say we invade his territory. Lord Inuyasha's power is a threat to our country and way of life!" He shouted while standing up from his seat. "His kingdom is smaller, he probably doesn't have that large of a fighting force".

"You want to provoke someone who we have no previous quarrel with?" A younger member of the parliament asked.

"You say that now, but he could easily become a threat in the future", the same man spoke that proposed war. "What's stopping him from turning his power on us? You heard Miroku, this Inuyasha clearly is angry at us for the action of our predecessors", everyone was silent, considering the possibility of a war between their two countries.

"And what's stopping him from turning our army into frogs and kittens?" Miroku finally spoke up. He stood up from his seat in the counsel. "I've seen his power first hand, if we made an attack on his kingdom we wouldn't stand a chance. Our army would be defeated in a day"

"Then what do you propose Sir Miroku?" An older member asked. Miroku looked at everyone as he spoke.

"An alliance. We need to offer Lord Inuyasha something that would benefit his kingdom", he said. Everyone thought on that for a moment before a younger member of the parliament came up with an idea.

"A marriage! We can offer him a group of our most beautiful women and he'll pick one to be his wife, securing an alliance between our two kingdoms", he said while everyone smiled and nodded in agreement. Miroku had to clear his throat to regain their attention.

"I don't think that will work. For those of you that weren't paying attention to my report a few weeks ago. Lord Inuyasha has a companion named Kagome Higurashi", he explained.

"That doesn't mean anything", an older man said. "She's probably just his assistant or personal servant"

"I don't believe that for a second", Miroku argued. "I saw the way he treats her, the looks they give each other. This Kagome woman is more to him than a companion to him. I would dare to say that she is probably his lover, maybe even his betrothed".

"Who is Kagome Higurashi?" Someone questioned.

"At her majesty' Sango's castle I overheard a conversation. Apparently Miss Kagome is originally from Queensland, but I don't know how she ended up in Lunaria with Lord Inuyasha", Miroku explained. If this were true then Sango could use the relationship to her advantage, especially since Kagome was originally a citizen of her country. Sango could demand at the very least a treaty of peace in exchange for Kagome having dual citizenship in both kingdoms. On the other hand Kagome could renounce her citizenship in Queensland, but if she did that then she wouldn't be allowed back in her home country and wouldn't be able to visit with any friends and family she may or may not have. He was sure Sango knew all this already and now, so did they.

"It seems her majesty is a step ahead of us once again", Miroku chuckled. He couldn't be more pleased that he was secretly seeing such a clever woman. "I'd like to personally investigate this matter", he proposed. Almost everyone immediately agreed to let Miroku handle this, he may have been young but the former knight was very skilled in political matters, it was for that very reason that he was placed on this parliament.

QUEENSLAND

"Your majesty", one of Sango's men handed her the folder on the current missing person's case. This one was most troubling. For the past month people have been disappearing in her capital, seemingly at random. The most recent missing person was a little girl, now this was getting serious. The authorities under her command had still yet to find a lead, or find a single trace of the missing.

"This is awful", Sango sighed setting back in her big comfy desk chair.

"Who would do this?" Kilala her best friend and most trusted assistant asked.

"I think the better question is why these people are being taken?" Sango wondered looking at the files. "If they were being killed then surely we would have found something by now", deciding she had enough of this she reached in the left drawer and pulled out a single piece of parchment paper. "I'm putting Byakuya in charge of this investigation.

"Him?" Kilala looked at her oddly.

"Yes, him", Sango wasn't exactly all that fond of the man herself, but he was good at what he did. Byakuya was a private detective that she sometimes hired to work with the authorities of her kingdom to help solve the more difficult or elusive cases. The pros, he did good work and solved every case he was given. The cons, the guy was an arrogant weird head case, dressed in an effeminate manner, and didn't get along well with the other law officers.

"Make sure he gets this envelope right away", Sango handed her the letter containing the request, basics of the case and the amount of money she was offering him.

"I'll get it to his mansion by tomorrow", Kilala said taking the envelope. Byakuya made a lot of money off his cases as and even more money since he performed in the theaters regularly allowing him to live well off in a private manor located in the east district of the capital.

"On to other matters", Kilala smiled and opened another folder she was carrying. "Our recent guest, Lord Inuyasha of Lunaria has been all the gossip lately".

"I figured word would get out soon, but I didn't think it would be this fast", Sango smiled at the memory of a while ago when she invited the prince to her castle for her younger brother's wedding. At first she was warry of him after seeing his fantastical powers first hand, but after sending Kilala to spy him during his stay she realized that he wasn't bad. He seemed like a mild mannered person with a bit of an icy exterior that only warmed when a certain girl was around him, not the type to start to a fight unless provoked. Inuyasha was okay in her book and definitely someone Sango could see herself allied with in the future. She was much more patient about it though, she could wait until Inuyasha was ready for such a thing, especially now with his kingdom open to the world again. The problem was Jutaria and their parliament. If what Miroku told her was accurate than they were obviously terrified of Inuyasha's power and would probably do something very stupid soon. If the prince was willing to meet with the parliament and perhaps clear the air then things could get resolved in a simple easy way. Inuyasha unfortunately disliked Jutaria for a supposed betrayal that happened years ago. Sango sighed to herself wondering if she would be forced to act like a median for the two kingdoms to keep the peace.

"Well a lot of people are wondering who that woman with him is or more accurately who she is to him", the blonde assistant said referring to the lord's companion Kagome.

"Yes Kagome Higurashi", Sango reached into another desk drawer and pulled out a file on the woman in question. The queen briefly went through the information that she already read. Her parentage, family and age. Her majesty was surprised when she discovered that the girl's father was an accomplished author, she even had some of his books in her personal library. "She used to live here in my kingdom, but how did she end up in Lunaria?"

"Look at the passport", Kilala pointed at the next page. Kagome acquired a passport to visit Jutaria, the reason, to conduct research into finishing her father's last book. Kilala went to her parent's house and spoke to Kagome's mother. Apparently her daughter went looking to find the origin of one of the fairy tales in her father's last book, a collection of old folk stories from around the countries, to find out how it ends. That's how Kagome made it to Lunaria and met Inuyasha the magic prince himself.

"She's completely in love with him", Sango smirked looking at the picture of Kagome. It was so painfully obviously when she thought back to the interactions of the couple. Lord Inuyasha treated her like a princess, always holding her hand when they thought no one was looking and giving her sweet looks. The same look that Miroku gave her when they were together.

"We might have a problem with her passport", Kilala brought up pointing at the stamp at the bottom. "It's expired, it was only temporary for a few months", that was troubling. Kagome was technically in another country illegally now. Sure Inuyasha could grant her citizenship in his kingdom, but what about the girl's family? Sango decided to not send him a letter about this, but she would be sure to bring this matter up with Inuyasha the next time they met. She wouldn't make a big deal about though, best not to get on the magic prince's bad side.

"I wonder if Lord Inuyasha would like to come see the fall festival" Sango said aloud.

"It couldn't hurt to ask", Kilala replied going over some more documents. Mind made up Sango began writing the letter.

 _KAGOME'S DIARY ENTRY_

 _At first I couldn't figure it out. It just didn't make sense. How did Inuyasha have such a perfectly chiseled body, like he was cut from marble? He said he didn't use his power to change his appearance and that all children of the moon retain their youth because that is when they have the best control over their power, any older and they could risk destroying themselves and the world around them._

 _So how exactly did Inuyasha have such a gorgeous body? A body that just makes me want to…stay focused Kagome. After conducting a little research I discovered the answer._

 _Every morning after getting out of bed he does a series of exercises in his bedroom. I first noticed this when I woke up one morning in his, I mean our, bed and saw him doing shirtless pushups on the floor._

 _Throughout the day, when he is alone in his big office he does more exercises. I peaked in through the door once and saw him doing pull-ups on a bookshelf._

 _On one of my days off I followed him to see what he does when I'm not around. Apparently Inuyasha frequently visits the training grounds outside the castle near the woods where Koga trains his fellow wolves. Inuyasha oversees the training for a bit and then engages Koga in a friendly but intense sparing match. Inuyasha won the fight and from what I overheard, almost never loses, much to the wolf commander's frustration._

 _So that's how he does it? He works out and spars every day. I mean when I think about its pretty obvious and I didn't need to spy on him, but I kind of feel a tad disappointed. Maybe I'm just looking for a good mystery to solve again._

Kagome was about to write more, but was stopped when she felt two arms wrap around her waist. Inuyasha sat on the bed behind her, gently laying kisses along her neck. Kagome had to suppress of moan, before she closed her diary and let him take this further he snatched it out of her hand.

"What are you writing?" Inuyasha stopped kissing her and looked at the page she was writing.

"Give it back!" Kagome blushed in embarrassment and made to grab it, but he simply held it out of her reach playfully and scooted back on the bed. He skimmed through the page she just wrote and grinned.

"I didn't know you were that interested in my body", Inuyasha chuckled seeing her face turn even redder. "Maybe you need a closer look", he unbuttoned the rest of his shirt slowly and let it fall off his torso. Kagome let out a surprised squeak and looked away.

"W-What are you doing?" She asked with a stutter.

"You wanted to know more about my body right", Inuyasha reached over and pulled her close.

"I was just curious", Kagome lied. Okay maybe partly curiosity, partly lustful fascination.

"Get a good look Kagome", He whispered in her ear holding her close. Kagome decided to do as he said and get a little payback for picking on her. She slowly ran her index finger, starting from the base of his neck all the way down the center of his chest making sure to trace his ab muscles, stopping only at the hem of his pants.

"Really?", Inuyasha sighed trying to hide his excitement at her warm touch.

"I could go further if you apologize for making fun of me", Kagome smiled seductively at him while straddling his waist and wrapping her arms around his neck. Now it was Inuyasha's turn to blush and loose his cool as she pressed her body closer to his making sure to rub her breasts against his pectorals.

"You're going to have to do better than that if you want me to apologize", he whispered keeping his voice even. Kagome looked him right in his amber gold eyes and smirked.

"If you insist your highness", without wasting anymore time she placed her lips where his shoulder met his neck and sucked on the skin in an attempt to leave a mark. Inuyasha actually let out a small gasp and moan before he suddenly pulled her mouth away.

"I'm sorry for making fun of you", he said without a hint of reluctance.

"Good, now let me-", Inuyasha cut her off by flipping her around so that Kagome was laying back on the bed and now he was looming over her.

"Allow me to make it up to you", he smiled down at her. A few seconds later and all of their remaining clothes were tossed to the floor. Inuyasha leaned over her, using his left hand to gently massage her breasts while his right hand slid down her smooth waist, trailing across her stomach, sliding between her legs.

"Inuyasha", Kagome moaned out.

'She's so beautiful', Inuyasha thought watching her bite her lower lip and writhe in his hands. Right when Kagome was close to her climax he stopped. Giving a disappointed sigh she opened her eyes and glanced up at him.

"Please", Kagome pleaded.

"Please what?" Inuyasha asked.

"Don't make me say it", she looked away with a blush.

"Please make love to you, is that what you want to ask?" He smirked down at her. Instead of answering she surprised him by pulling his head down, giving him a deep passionate kiss. Finally pulling away Kagome leaned back with a mischievous look.

"That's my answer", Inuyasha smiled at her boldness.

"As you wish milady", they spent the next few hours together in bed having sex in numerous positions. During the day they stayed professional, occasionally flirting with one another, but at night they went at it like wild animals. Inuyasha never stopped and Kagome didn't want him to, in fact she insistently begged him to keep going, harder and faster. When they finally did collapse into each other's arm, it was already late into the night.

"You have very lovely hair", Kagome commented sitting next to him on the bed wearing only his white silk shirt while Inuyasha laid there with only the sheet to cover his nude body. She currently was busy running her fingers through his long silvery hair using a brush to work out knots and tangles. For some odd reason his hair was always a complete mess after sex, hell at the end of every day it needed to be thoroughly combed. It was almost as if his hair wanted to look wild and unkempt. "So Inuyasha?"

"Yes?" Inuyasha turned and looked at Kagome while she continued to brush his hair.

"Why are you so strong and skilled?" she asked remembering her diary entry.

"My father trained me ever since I was a kid, and I guess I just stuck with it for decades", he said with a shrug.

"Why did he train you?" Kagome questioned while setting the brush down.

"Its tradition, I come from a long line of rulers who were trained to be strong warriors as well as being a king", Inuyasha stared up at the ceiling as he explained this. "It goes back to my father's ancestors the original natives of this land. The country was barren uninhabitable until they decided to plant trees and crops, built a village and started mining from the mountains".

"Mining?" Kagome had never heard of that going on here.

"Not anymore, I had put a stop to it ever since I turned Ryukotsei into a dragon and imprisoned him deep in the mountains. My ancestors had mined gold, metals and jewels from the mountain and used it to build a proper city, palace and establish a ruling class with the strongest warrior of their group being made king", he said, this seemed like a history that he knew extremely well. "That's how Lunaria first started according to my father and the books he gave me. He said a king had to be strong enough to fight for his kingdom with his own body, only someone who could lead an army into battle and fight alongside them sharing the pain, struggle and blood deserved to be king".

"Wow. He sounds like a great man", she really enjoyed it when Inuyasha shared some of his past with her, it made him seem more open and human.

"He was", Inuyasha smiled sadly. "But my Grandfather, now he was a legend", he said changing the subject.

"Really?" Kagome tilted her head in curiosity. This was the first time Inuyasha spoke of him before.

"Yeah the man lead his the kingdoms army against an invading empire that wanted Lunaria for the gold in the mountain. My grandfather Sesshomaru was terribly outnumbered against this foe and yet they won the battle with him leading the charge", Inuyasha spoke in a tone similar to childlike enthusiasm, something Kagome had never heard from him before. She smiled at the joy on his face. "If I ever have a son, I would like to name him after him".

"Sesshomaru, I like that name", Kagome said laying down next to him, letting Inuyasha wrap his arms around her so they could finally sleep.

ELSEWHERE

"So any word on these disappearances?" One uniformed soldier asked his patrol partner.

"Not much, her majesty sent word out for all of us to stay alert", the other officer took out a pipe and let it with a match. "I heard she's even sending some of the Queen's Blade out in the city to run patrols and make people feel a bit safer", his partner raised an eyebrow at that. The Queen's Blade where the elite guard that guarded the palace and the royal family. Things must be getting serious if she sent some of those men out into the capital.

"You shouldn't smoke on the job mate", he said looking at his partner's filthy habit with disdain.

"Gotta take a piss", the office spoke with an uncaring attitude blowing smoke from his pipe in his partners face. Making his way over to the alley he prepared to do his business.

"Public urination is illegal", his partner called.

"The nearest lavatory isn't for several blocks just keep a look out for me", he said walking behind a stack of old barrels.

" _Hmmmmmm_ ", neither one of them seemed to hear what could have been a closed mouth scream coming from the shadows of the alley.

"I'm not doing anything for you, just hurry up", the other officer said looking away from the alley. After finishing, the officer straightened his uniform prepared to leave.

" _Hmmmmmm_!" The noise was bit louder, startling the man. Turning back around he nearly jumped out of skin when he saw a face sticking out of the darkness in the middle of the alley.

"Bloody hell!" The officer shouted. "Who are you!?"

"What is it!?" His partner rushed into the alley hand on the hilt of his rapier.

"This tosser scared the living hell out me", the officer said pointing at the face. His partner stared at the face for a moment before realization hit him. Reaching into one of the pockets of his uniform he pulled out a small booklet that was handed out recently to all the patrol men. The book contained copies of the missing people's faces that all of them were ordered to carry and familiarize themselves with until the case was solved. Flipping through it the officer found the image of a woman's face that he held to the face several yards in front of them.

"Veronica? Veronica Withers? Is that you?" The officer asked taking a step forward passed his frightened partner. This was one of the missing people, the first to ever be found. "Are you alright? People have been looking for you", he took another step forward holding his hands up to show that he meant no harm. Best not upset someone who was most likely the victim of a terrible crime, or perhaps she got away from her kidnapper and didn't know who to trust.

" _Hmmmmmm_!" The face just tilted sideways as if confused still making that closed mouth scream. The officer noticed as he got closer the strange clacking noise like the grinding of gears and cogs coming from the missing woman.

"I'm going to have to ask you to come with us Miss Withers. We'll need to know what happened and I'm sure your family misses you", the officer smiled assuring that everything would be fine. What he did not expect was the still emotionless face to suddenly open its mouth. Out of the darkness something black and wet was thrown out onto the concrete at the officer's feet. The man gasped in horror at what was on the ground before him. There wasn't much light, but there was enough to see a poor bloody mutilated cat with all its limbs cut off.

"W-why? What is this!?" The other officer backed away while his partner remained standing frozen in shock a yard away from the missing woman in the dark of the alley.

" _Pa…Part…Parts_ ", the words came out of the woman's open mouth. The face finally moved forward into the bit of light and the rest of her could at last be seen. She was completely bare of any clothing, it looked like all of her elbows knees and shoulders were cut away and replaced with metal joints. Her stomach area and all those organs were hollowed out and replaced by a series of clockwork mechanisms covered in blood and strips of flesh tangles in the cogs. The woman's neck was even replaced by metal rods and gears. All of Veronica Withers' hair was shaved away and her eyes were replaced by lifeless glass orbs designed to imitate life like a soulless doll.

"My god. What happened to you?" The officer watched in terror was the woman stepped closer on shaky legs, the metallic joints and gears clicking with each step.

" _Need parts….he said_ ", her hollow voice came out of the open mouth again. " _Need…perfection….he said_ ", the officer finally noticed the woman's fingers had been replaced by long metal razor sharp claws stained red with the blood of the cat it just butchered a moment ago.

"Oh no", the officer realized how much danger he was in and quickly backed away just as the woman was about to lunge at him. He quickly blew his whistle as loud as possible, alerting any other officers close by that he needed urgent assistance.

" _Parts_ ", the thing that was once Veronica Withers stepped out of the alley following after the two scared officers, mumbling about parts and perfection. Gears clicking and clacking as it struggled to walk straight.

* * *

 **Chapter end. Sorry about the wait. I had to change something that happens later in the story, also had to skim through the first story and make sure there won't be any continuity mistakes. I write these stories in a notebook, but a lot of the time I change things as I type them and they can sometimes deviate from what I originally come up with, all for the greater good.**

 **I don't think I even mentioned what time period this takes place in. I tried in the first story to not have this pinned down to a single era or period by never really giving any hints to the period. I honestly don't know myself. I wanted it to be kind of Victorian era, not medieval though.**

 **That part with Kagome's diary entry was just some good fun. I kind of have this thing where I try to figure out how anime heroes get so fit and muscular. I know it's the artist that makes them that way, but how do they get so fit in their own universes. I get how characters like Ichigo in Bleach and Naruto are so fit, they spend their entire series fighting and training, but Yugi from Yu-Gi-Oh just stands in one spot and plays a card game. Why is he so fit? People who have seen the show will know what I'm talking about, I hope.**

 **Thanks for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3: YOU'LL BE PERFECT**

 _To the Parliament of Jutaria_

 _I'm sure you are all very busy so I'll just get right to the point. I must respectfully decline a meeting in either of our kingdoms. The betrayal of your grandparents is not so easily forgotten nor will it be forgiven. I have no desire to make any violent acts of war as revenge, there's been enough pointless bloodshed in this world. Instead my kingdom and your country will have no treaties nor alliances of any kind. You left us to fend for ourselves in the middle of a rebellion, now I shall do the same to you._

 _Lord Inuyasha of Lunaria_

Miroku sighed as he reread the copy of the letter that the parliament was sent. After the last letter they sent to Inuyasha requesting a peaceful meeting, the prince finally responded, though not in the way he hoped. He could easily read between the lines of the letter, basically it said 'Fuck off! Leave me alone and you won't get hurt'.

"He's very stubborn isn't he", he said to himself while sitting in his home study. On the desk in front of him sat a bunch of books containing the laws and policies of Jutaria and Queensland. He was looking for a way to perhaps get on the good side of Lord Inuyasha. Unfortunately he didn't have a book on Lunaria's laws to give him an idea of how he ran his country, so for now he would just assume since it was a monarchy that he ruled in a similar way that Sango did.

Miroku was a patriot, he loyally served his country and the people in it. The reason he kept pursuing a way to gain an alliance with Inuyasha was that he could see the great benefits such an alliance would bring. Someone as powerful as Inuyasha must have a strong army and a great number of resources at his disposal. How else could his kingdom stand strong for a hundred years cut off from the rest of the world? He was not afraid of the man like many of his fellow council members. He knew that Inuyasha was not someone to trifle with and could probably crush anyone who opposed him, another reason why it was better to be on his side than against him. He firmly believed in peace and that if the three kingdoms could stand united then peace could reign for a long time.

"Maybe", thinking about Sango's kingdom gave him an idea. Sango could request a parley, where the leaders of Jutaria and the ruler of Lunaria will meet in her country as neutral ground to discuss things in a civilized way. Rather than keep sending pointless request letters back and forth. Inuyasha would have to accept or else he would look bad, and image was important to all lords, queens and kings.

"I'll have to talk to the rest of the council about this, but it should work", Miroku smiled to himself and got started on the proposal.

ONE WEEK LATER-LUNARIA

"So I've made a decision", Inuyasha said sitting in his throne. Before him kneeled a group of several tall strong looking men that had been transfigured years ago to resemble solid bulky stone-like golems.

"You are the best laborers in the kingdom isn't that right?", he began with a question

"That is correct your highness", the one in the middle said softly. It seems despite changing his overall attitude to something less cold and harsh, the people were still somewhat intimidated by him.

"I've decided to reopen the mines up in the mountains and I would like to hire you all for the job along with anyone you think could be suitable for the task", he stated. These men truthfully were the best for the job, their stone bodies made them stronger and much more resilient than others. There were a lot of precious metals and jewels that could be mined from the mountain, like gold, silver, ruby, sapphire and emerald. With the country now accessible to the world, Inuyasha planned on opening trading with other countries and kingdoms to improve the economy that up until now was surviving on its own resources, but not necessarily thriving. Kagome actually gave him the idea recently when she was asking him about the history of the country.

"Ayame has a lunch bouffe waiting for you in the mess hall. I'll await your answer after you all have had your meal", and with that he dismissed them with a wave. After they were all gone he stood up from throne and decided to take a stroll around the castle.

"Your highness!" Inuyasha turned and spotted Shippou standing behind him with a bow. Gesturing for him to rise he waited for him to speak. "You have a letter that came less than hour ago", he stated handing the man an envelope. "This is important letter from Queensland and the messenger is waiting in town for a response".

"Thank you", Shippou smiled and left, one of the few people who easily accepted the new less standoffish lord. Opening the letter he read the contents while continuing his walk through the halls. The first part mildly interested him, but the rest merely annoyed him to no end.

 _Lord Inuyasha,_

 _I would like to cordially invite you to attend the Fall Festival in the capital of Queensland. I'm aware how this comes off to you, so let's not beat around the bush. I want to discuss a possible alliance between our two kingdoms with you face to face. I hope you can we can come to a mutual agreement._

 _On a related note, I have been informed of your disdain for the governing body of Jutaria. The counsel has requested a neutral meeting and I within my rights as Queen I'm asking you to come. The meeting will take place in my royal palace and I will act as the mediator. I would like for you to come and help me resolve this hatred you seem to have for Jutaria._

 _Your Friend, Sango._

"Friend huh?" Inuyasha chuckled lightly at that. It wasn't hard to figure out that he was backed into a corner here. He had to attend or else he would lose face and end up looking like the bad guy. "Well played", he remarked continuing his walk.

What to do now? It was Inuyasha's turn to make a move. He had already made the decision to go, but should he take Kagome with him on another trip. After giving it some thought he decided against it. This was going to be a political battle, one that required his wealth of knowledge and experience. He would rather Kagome not come as his concerns for her would only distract him. Plus if things turned bad he might have to make a show of power in an effort to deter any thoughts of war, and he wanted her to be safe in his kingdom when and if that happened.

"This is going to be such a god damn hassle", sometimes he wished he had his own counsel that he could send in his place for things like this, but something like that would only lead to people trying to manipulate things for their benefits as well as undermining his rule.

"What's going to be a hassle?" A pleasant voice asked. Well there was someone who always brightened Inuyasha's day. Kagome smiled at him as she approached. Inuyasha, feeling rather chipper today despite the letter quickly swept her up in a hug.

"Just a minor irritation with a country to the south", he smiled keeping his arms around her waist.

"You mean Jutaria? What did they do now?" Kagome wondered what upset her prince this time.

"They're practically forcing me to a meeting now", Inuyasha sighed in annoyance.

"Really?" Kagome asked.

"I have to attend, it's in Queensland and Sango will serve as the neutral third party so the two other parties can safely air their grievances", he explained. "I won't be able to take you with me this time I'm afraid".

"Why not?" Kagome sounded a bit upset at this.

"Because this might get ugly, I want you safe here when that happens", he ran a hand through her hair while he spoke sincerely. Kagome was still upset that she couldn't visit with her family again but accepted his reasoning. A sudden idea popped into his head, one that would keep her busy while he was gone. "How would you like to be in charge while I'm gone?"

"WHAT!?" Kagome yelled making some nearby servants and guards jump.

"I need someone I can trust to run things while I'm in Queensland, just for a few days, a week at the most", Inuyasha said with amusement in his tone.

"Why can't Koga do it? You left him in charge last time, and he's your second in command", Kagome reminded him.

"Consider this a test", Inuyasha said taking her hands in his. "When we get married you'll be the lady of the kingdom which means that you're the one in command while I'm outside of Lunaria".

"That's too much responsibility your putting on me", she complained.

"You'll be fine, we can go over everything later", Inuyasha gave he an assuring smile. "You'll be perfect"

TWO DAYS LATER

"So I have to go, but Kagome gets to stay here, that seems backwards", Shippou complained while lugging a suitcase.

"Don't whine you brat, he's doing this because he trusts her and wants her to feel important to him", Koga said walking beside him. Normally he was the one running things when Lord Inuyasha wasn't around, but this time that duty fell on Kagome. Koga understood perfectly what his lord and friend was trying to do. He wanted Kagome to be more than just his lover and personal assistant. When she finally agreed to marry Inuyasha he obviously planned to give her an active role in the kingdom of Lunaria.

"I'm only going because he needs a lackey to carry his documents", Shippou whined.

"Your also good with keeping track of records and have a nearly photographic memory that our lord finds incredibly useful", Koga reminded him.

"In other words, I'm a smart lackey", the boy sassed.

"With a smart mouth", Inuyasha suddenly appeared from behind startling them both.

"AH!" Shippou screamed jumping nearly a foot off the ground. Inuyasha stood there dressed in a white collared frilly shirt, black double breasted vest, black pants, shoes and a deep red hooded billowing robe with a white crescent moon on the back similar to the types of robes he used to wear before Kagome changed his heart. The hood was left down letting his neatly combed mercury hair fall loose around him.

"You ready to go?" Inuyasha asked looking down at the startled fox boy.

"Y-yeah", Shippou stuttered and continued carrying his bag and followed his lord out to the front entrance of the castle. Outside by the carriage that would transport them to Queensland Kagome stood dressed in a very nice purple bustle dress and her hair held up in a ribbon. Inuyasha's mood brightened up when he saw her.

"Come to see us off?" He asked with a smile.

"I'll miss you", Kagome said sadly. "I'm still not sure I can do all of this by myself", in response gave her a quick but passionate kiss.

"I have faith in you, besides we already went over everything", she gave him a hug goodbye before he got in the carriage.

"I wish I could stay behind, but his highness needs an assistant", Shippou fumed looking up at Kagome.

"That makes you more important than you know", Kagome smiled approvingly at him. "Inuyasha is relying on you, you'll do a good job right?" The fox blushed from getting complimented by such a lovely woman.

"A-Alright", Shippou nodded his head vowing not to let anyone down. While they were talking Inuyasha opened up a window on the other side of the carriage to speak privately with his second in command.

"If things become too hard for her I trust you'll take over", he spoke quietly to Koga.

"Of course, or if an emergency that she can't handle pops up", the wolf leader respectfully bowed to his friend and lord.

"Good", Inuyasha nodded his head.

"Are you sure about not taking guards with you?" Koga asked with a bit of concern.

"That would send the wrong message, I'm not the bad guy here, they are the ones in the wrong", Inuyasha scowled. Shippou loaded his suitcase in the back and finally entered the carriage sitting awkwardly across from the strangely silent ruler of his home. "We'll be back before you know it", Inuyasha smiled at Kagome through the open window. Using his power he transformed the wheels of the carriage into legs and large wings. With a running start and a few flaps the carriage took off into the air. During the flight Shippou started to feel queasy and had to open a window before he completely lost his breakfast.

"Not a flying person I see", Inuyasha remarked with amusement.

"This sucks", Shippou cried with his head out the window.

"You'll get used to it", Inuyasha looked at his pocket watch estimating the time it would take to get to Sango's castle. As calm and collected as he was, he didn't want to spend too much time stuck in a carriage with a flight sick fox boy.

SOME TIME LATER

"He should be here by now", Sango said to herself as she stood on her balcony. The members of Jutaria's parliament had arrived this morning, no surprise really since their two countries were neighbors. Lunaria was far to the north of Jutaria, but going by how fast Inuyasha arrived last time he visited her majesty figured that he would be early. Her eyes spotted something familiar flying out of the clouds towards the castle. "Speak of the magic prince", Sango smiled and headed to the front entrance to greet him when he landed.

Walking down the steps to the front courtyard the queen made it in time to see the carriage land in the center, the animalistic wings and legs turning back into wheels as it did. The door opened and out jumped a red headed boy with fluffy fox ears and a tail, practically hugging the stone floor with tears in his eyes.

"Oh sweet ground, how I missed you!", the boy cried looking so relieved. Sango didn't bother to suppress the chuckle of amusement that escaped her lips. So this is what the people of Inuyasha's kingdom were like. She wasn't all that bothered by the animal like appendages the boy possessed, never been one to judge books by covers.

"Stop that, you're making a fool of yourself", Inuyasha spoke getting out of the carriage too. Sango noticed that he was dressed similar to how he was last time, in a vest, shirt and pants, except now he wore a very nice red open robe over his outfit that billowed around him when the breeze came though.

"Queen Sango, a pleasure", he gave a short but respectful bow.

"Lord Inuyasha, the pleasures all mine", Sango nodded her head.

"I assume Jutaria's government is here already, they called for this meeting after all", Inuyasha didn't even try to hide his distaste for this whole affair. Sango gave a sympathetic smile.

"Yes, and they will all be staying at a resort in the capital while you get the luxury of being my guest in the castle once again", this was done to insure peace by keeping the two parties in separate locations.

"Good", Inuyasha followed next to her into the castle while her soldiers carried whatever luggage he brought. Shippou stayed close to his lord, he didn't want to wander off in an unfamiliar place like this. "Might I ask when and where the meetings will take place?" He questioned while they walked.

"Tomorrow morning, I decided to have it in the capital's council hall instead of the palace", Sango thought that now was a time to address her one growing concern. "I hope, with me as the mediator, that we can find a peaceful resolution to any grievances between your country and Jutaria", Inuyasha almost scoffed at that, he didn't though, because he refused to be rude to a Queen in her own kingdom. "That is the end goal of everyone here, peace"

"That remains to be seen", Inuyasha couldn't help his cold tone when he said that. If Jutaria truly wanted an alliance so badly then they better be willing to make reparations for their betrayal a hundred years ago.

"I must say I'm surprised you didn't bring that woman Kagome with you", Sango changed the subject making him pause. "This is after all her home, I figured you would want someone familiar with the workings of this place by your side", she was subtly letting Inuyasha know that she knew that his lover was from Queensland. Sango wasn't threatening him, just reminding him of something they need to address in private.

"I left her in charge of my kingdom", Inuyasha said nonchalantly.

"Really?" Sango raised an eyebrow at that.

"Yes, do you see a problem with that, because I have the utmost confidence in her", Inuyasha defended.

"With all due respect your majesty", Shippou started, speaking to the queen for the first time. "Kagome has been well instructed by Lord Inuyasha himself and is fully capable of handling all his highnesses duties while he is away from the kingdom", even the fox boy stood up for Kagome Higurashi.

"She must be very important to you, if you gave her such an important position", Sango took this as confirmation that Kagome was more than just Inuyasha's companion, and more than his lover. Inuyasha didn't respond to her question, but kept walking beside her. "Though I guess we can discuss such things at dinner tonight".

"Indeed", Inuyasha was led by the Queen herself to the guest wing of her castle where he and his assistant Shippou would be staying.

LUNARIA

"Alright what's next on the agenda?" Kagome asked. Almost immediately after Inuyasha left she changed out of the fancy dress to a short black skirt and white buttoned shirt. If she was going to be handling the kingdom until Inuyasha got back, sitting in his office for most of the day than she was at least going to be comfortable. As her Inuyasha once put, 'I prefer comfort over style'.

"The mining operation in the mountains has started up and running", Koga said handing her the papers showing that the mines were open again without a hitch, so far. "The miners are requesting funds for some new tools that can help in the mines".

"Sounds reasonable", Kagome read the reports. Just as she was about to sign off for this Kanna the pale white haired rabbit girl came into the royal office carrying a bunch more documents. "Dammit, how does Inuyasha do this every day?" She sighed as Kanna placed them on the desk, on top of the still unfinished pile making it even bigger, the day wasn't even over yet.

"Well, he kind of just went through the motions for years, like a clock", Koga explained. "It wasn't until you came along that I noticed a bit of enthusiasm in the way he worked".

"Really I changed him that much?" Kagome never knew him before she arrived so she wouldn't know.

"Yeah from day one when you arrived I noticed a change in him", the wolf leader smirked. "It was almost like he was looking forward to his days because of you", his grin turned suggestive. "He could barely keep his eyes off you, especially in his office when you had to bend over to get something off the floor"

"D-Don't say that", Kagome blushed.

"To be fair, you couldn't keep your eyes off him either", Koga said as she turned even redder with embarrassment.

"Shut up", Kagome silently fumed.

"As you wish, my future queen", he snickered not saying any more.

UNKNOWN LOCATION

A hooded figure leaned over a table where his newest creation laid. Around him in his workshop were various tools and machinery parts. The tools looked like crude surgical devices and judging by the marks and blood all over them, were used quite frequently.

"Now rise", the man whispered as his hand glowed with a green flame. With this hand he poked his new creation in the center of the chest, where a heart used to be. The eyes of what used to be a little girl flicked open and the creature rose from the table. "Stand", he commanded. Shakily the small abomination stood on fleshy and mechanical legs coming to about four feet tall. For a moment the man smiled in pride seeing what he was able to turn the girl he took a while ago into, after so much removing and rebuilding of parts and pieces. The left overs of said former body lay in a pile in the corner for future projects, 'scraps' he called them.

"No", as he watched his creation shake and twitch where it stood he suddenly frowned and backhanded it to the floor. "Failure!" He screamed kicking the abdomen, where the child's stomach used to be. "Why!? Why!? Why!?" He kept kicking as he shouted out his frustration. Again he failed to make the perfect creation. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't create perfection like he wanted.

Leaving the broken thing to twitch on the ground he grabbed today's newspaper and reread the front page article again. Queen Sango was hosting a meeting between the leaders of Lunaria and Jutaria. So many influential people in one place, and with them access to other countries where more 'materials' awaited. The man glanced over on the wall to the detailed draft of his next creation.

"You'll be perfect", he hoped while gathering more tools to begin anew.

* * *

 **Chapter end.**

 **Sorry for the long wait. I went away traveling for the entire month of January and also decided to take a break from writing anything, also I was feeling depressed an unmotivated. Now I'm back, I'm feeling better and I'm determined to keep my stories going again. I actually came up with a new idea that I'm going to start when this one is finished along with my Magic Cat series.**

 **Some of you are probably bored of all this political bull shit in the story. I don't do a lot of research for things like how a kingdom is run, or how they used to be ran. Not to worry, things are going to pick up in the next chapter. I've got a few twists prepared for this story.**

 **Thanks for reading and Happy Valentine's Day.**


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4: IMITATIONS OF LIFE**

Sango sat behind the center stand, raised a foot off the ground while her personal assistant Kilala stood to her right. Her brother Kohaku sat in a stand to the left slightly lower than hers. In the center of the council hall, a circular marble floored area where two wooden tables face another. On one side sat Miroku, elected to be the head speaker for the parliament of Jutaria. Behind him in the large open auditorium like seating sat the majority of his countries parliament. The other table was reserved for the lord of Lunaria who had yet to arrive. In the seating behind his table sat various political members, nobles and some journalists of Sango's kingdom.

"He's late", Miroku commented, hands folded on the table in a display of calm patience.

"Actually he's not, your all just early", Sango replied smartly.

"They're all here to finally see the so called magic prince, can you really blame them", even Miroku was excited, mainly because he was fairly certain that he could convince Inuyasha to a three-way alliance with all three of their great kingdoms finally united. There was reason he was elected to be the head speaker after all, he could be very persuasive.

"He's here", Kilala leaned down and whispered into Sango's ear. She stood up immediately silencing everyone and drawing their attention. All eyes were drawn to the doors to the council chamber as they opened and in walked his royal highness to the western kingdom.

Inuyasha walked down the carpeted steps that led to center floor, red robe flowed behind him. He looked just like he walked right of the very fairy tale based off him. The people held their breath seeing his smooth handsome features, long hair like a river of pure mercury and eyes like pools of shimmering gold looking apathetic and bored with this whole affair. He looked like some sort of ethereal being that couldn't be bothered by the affairs of such mortals around him. Some of the younger women in the audience blushed at how attractive he was, it was after all easy to tell that he was well built under his tight fitting black vest and white silk shirt.

"So that's him?" A younger member of Jutaria asked clearly impressed.

"He doesn't look like much", another member whispered with clear jealousy.

"We still haven't seen proof of the so called powers that Sir Miroku said he displayed", an older member scoffed in skepticism. Kilala cleared her throat getting everyone's attention.

"Presenting Lord Inuyasha, ruler of the kingdom of Lunaria!" The blonde assistant introduced. Inuyasha refused to look towards Miroku and his fellow council members yet and instead focused on Queen Sango.

"Please have a seat on the opposite table", Sango motioned with her hand to the empty table on the other side of the floor. When Inuyasha turned the people finally noticed the young boy on the lord's left trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. Shippou swallowed nervously clutching a bunch of books and folders filled with documents. He could hear the whispering as the people stared at his fox ears and tail. He really didn't want to be here right now and was about to let Inuyasha know, but a quick glance directed at him from said lord was all he needed. Inuyasha's stern gaze said 'Your representing the citizens of the you home, get it together boy'.

"Now I call this meeting to order!" Sango glanced down at both parties. "The parliament of Jutaria has requested this neutral gathering between them and the lord of Lunaria to discuss negotiations for an alliance" She noticed a slight glare from Inuyasha directed towards Miroku that disappeared as fast as it came. "Let's begin", Sango sat back down and gestured towards her secret boyfriend.

"Well for starters", Miroku stood up from his seat at his table. "I would like to say it's an honor to see you again your highness", he said politely to Inuyasha giving a short but respectful bow. Best to get on his good side now. "It's also a pleasure to see that you've brought…" He eyed the boy next to the lord.

"This is Shippou, he works at my castle and is here as my assistant", Inuyasha introduced the fox boy. Shippou chose to not say anything for now, knowing that his highness didn't like these people.

"Nice to meet you then Shippou", Miroku smiled politely while the boy merely nodded his head.

"Enough pleasantries, let's get on with this", Inuyasha scowled at him.

"Yes, well", Miroku cleared his throat before beginning. "About a hundred years ago our two countries were allies and now we seek to renew said alliance, hopefully stronger than it ever was before", he could just barely hear Inuyasha quietly scoff at that.

"Let me show you something", the silver haired lord gestured to his assistant who stood up carrying a folder. Shippou walked across the marble floor and quickly placed the folder on the table in front of Miroku, then quietly returned to his seat.

"What is this?" Sir Miroku asked.

"Just open it", Inuyasha glared at him and his fellow council men. Miroku flipped open the folder and noticed what looked like torn pieces of old parchment paper. Picking up one of the pieces he could see the faded ink of words that sounded like some sort of hand written treaty. Picking up more pieces he finally found one that had some signatures one of which was the former king of Lunaria, Inutaisho. The other signatures he didn't know, but recognized the family names of some of Jutaria's founding clans. "That was the treaty that my father made", Inuyasha began with silent fury. "He was the one who went to your country with this alliance. Many times he gave you money and resources when you were struggling. When the criminal group known as the Band of Seven was wreaking havoc on your lands, my father lent you support and aid. Good men, strong loyal men that served my father faithfully lost their lives to bring those monsters down", Sango actually swallowed the lump in her throat from hearing the lord speak with such passion and anger. "And the one time my kingdom required your aid, the one time we needed it most, your country turned its back on us", Inuyasha stood up looking at each face in the stands behind Miroku.

"I had to stop a coup by myself without my father and with very few soldiers. I defeated the leader and punished him severely for his crimes. On that day I took that very treaty you see before you and tore it to pieces, vowing to never again make any deals with Jutaria as long as I lived", Inuyasha sat back down having finished his speech.

"That's uh…very…uh", Miroku was actually at a loss for words not prepared for such an angry outburst.

"Your predecessors betrayed me, so how do I know you won't do the very same?" Inuyasha questioned. "And furthermore, what does your country have to offer mine?" Miroku took this opportune question to change the subject and begin making his country look better in the eyes of this man.

"We have many resources that we could offer", he fished out a few documents to show the lord. "We have a silver mine that has made our country very wealthy and powerful", Inuyasha almost grinned at such a pathetic display of wealth. Shippou noticed the look and handed him the small sack he was allowed to carry. Inuyasha dumped the contents out on the table in front of him. Several clumps of pure gold, emerald, ruby and diamond hit the surface with thump.

"In my kingdom we mine far more valuable minerals than measly silver", Inuyasha allowed himself a small smile at the look of surprise and even jealous greed on some of the parliament member's faces.

"Impressive", Miroku complimented. "What about soldiers? You said that our ancestors betrayed you by not sending aid during a revolt. We can make up for that by lending you some of our best soldiers and knights to help protect your kingdom".

"Don't bother, my wolf soldiers have skills and abilities that far exceed anything your pitiful men can do", Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest as he once again proved how much better off his kingdom was.

'Wolf soldiers?' Many of them wondered what terrifying beasts he had protecting his country. More and more ideas were proposed to base the alliance around, but Inuyasha easily countered each and every one of them. For a smaller kingdom, Lunaria was doing very well for itself without outside help. Miroku wracked his brain, this was becoming more difficult than he imagined. He knew the lord was stubborn, but he just had no idea how adamant and unmovable he really is.

Sango watched on with silent concern. So far things hadn't escalated to shouting and arguing, where she would be needed to break it up. What had her concerned was how hard Miroku was trying, knowing how much he desired peace for all kingdoms, a desire that arose from his service as a knight after seeing so much death and violence at a young age. However she did admire how calm Lord Inuyasha conducted himself when dealing with the leaders of a country he despised. The first time Sango met him she could tell there was a bubbling cauldron of anger just churning beneath the service of his stoic exterior, he hid it well, but she knew it was there. Only someone with that kind of anger needed to put on a practiced façade like his.

"Are we done with this farce yet?" Inuyasha asked beginning to lose his patience with these people.

"Lord Inuyasha, may I be so bold as to ask if you would be interested in a marriage contract to unite our two countries?" One parliament member stood up and asked. Miroku sent a glare at the man silently telling him now was not the time to bring something like this up.

"Not in the slightest, besides I already have a woman that I am still courting with the intent to marry", Inuyasha hoped that would put the matter rest. He didn't want to drag her into this.

"Yes we are aware of this Kagome Higurashi your so fond of, it seems she was and still is a citizen of Queen Sango's kingdom", an older council man stood up. "We have a long standing alliance with Queensland, if you were to marry that woman then you would have no choice but to ally with her majesty and by extension us", Inuyasha scowled at the man. That sounded somewhat close to a threat to his ears, or at the very least it sounded like they thought that they could strong arm him into a pact. Seeing the anger in his gaze Sango decided to speak up.

"I am aware of Miss Higurashi's situation and with your help Lord Inuyasha would like her to have dual citizenship for both our countries", the queen hoped to put that to rest.

"Let me guess, if I agree to the alliance correct?" Inuyasha asked with a bemused smirked. Like such a tactic could work on him.

"No, she's just a citizen, she can have dual citizenship like any other honest person not of royalty with no strings attached", Sango meant every word of that with no ulterior motives. Inuyasha seemed surprise that she wasn't trying to manipulate him, but decided to reserve judgement until all the paperwork was complete.

"Of course she'll need to come back to Queensland to sign the documents for it in person", she smiled at him.

"Very well", Inuyasha sighed, looks like keeping Kagome out of this was not an option.

"If we could get back to the issues now", Miroku pipped up regaining everyone's attention. Shippou placed his head on the table in frustration. This was going around in circles.

LATER

"Ridiculous greedy fools", Inuyasha decided to go for a walk during the evening to clear his head. After the first meeting was over her majesty Sango was nice enough to give him the location of a close by square with a large beautiful fountain in the center. He could barely stand to be around Jutaria's governing body right now, in his mind they were no different than their treacherous grandparents. That Miroku seemed to aggravate him the most though, the fool just didn't know when to quit.

As he sat down on a nearby bench that faced the fountain he didn't notice a figure in the shadows sneaking up behind him. Out of the darkness a bronze mechanical clawed hand slowly reached towards his unsuspecting back. It was then that Inuyasha heard the bizarre ticking noise and the feeling of impending danger from behind. Leaping to his feet he turned just in time before the clawed hand grabbed him.

"And who might you be?" Inuyasha asked. The figure stepped out of the shadows revealing a disturbing sight of some sort of large mechanical man made out of combination of human parts and metal ones. The torso was that of a man with a glass window in the center full of cogs and springs like a clock, its lower half was a long metal snake like body. It had four abnormally long arms, made of human limbs with metal joints replacing the elbows and shoulders. The hands were also mechanical with the tips of the fingers being sharpened into blade like claws. The worst was the face, a bald head of a man with glassy doll-like eyes, the bottom jaw removed replaced by wires and sharp metal bits resembling teeth.

"What are you?" Inuyasha asked, but the hideous abomination just hissed and snarled at him. Its serpentine body propelling it forward at him. With a quick back flip he moved out of the way landing closer to the fountain. The creature lunged towards him again and this time Inuyasha jumped over it while simultaneously kicking it in the back the head, knocking it into the fountain. The creature sank into the water disappearing underneath.

"Hm", Inuyasha waited ready, his danger sense was still telling him not to let his guard down. He didn't have to wait long as the mechanical monster burst from the fountain screaming and thrashing.

"Fire!" The sound of several rifles close by caught the lord's attention. A group of soldiers had arrived and were currently peppering the creature with musket shots. The monster hollered as the projectiles bombarded it. "Again!" The captain ordered as another row of soldiers fired their rifles at it. After a few minutes the monster collapsed on the edge of the fountain seemingly dead.

"Your highness are you alright?" The captain came over and bowed to Inuyasha. He was one of the soldiers present during the peace talks earlier today. He along with the rest of the soldiers and guard were made aware of Lord Inuyasha's presence here and were told specifically by her majesty Queen Sango to protect him as they would her. Imagine his surprise when they saw the lord being attacked by one of the mysterious 'dolls' as they called them, only to see him easily leap and flip over it with practiced agility.

"I'm fine", Inuyasha nodded to him and walked over to the dead creature to get a better look at it. "What is this?"

"We call them Dolls your highness, these strange creatures started showing up in the capital recently attacking animals and people", the captain explained following behind. "We've been trying to keep this quiet, but more and more show up every day", that seemed to be all the captain was allowed to reveal of the situation.

"Sounds like you have your hands full", despite his nonchalant attitude he was in fact concerned. Just as they got close enough the Doll suddenly came back to life rearing up to claw at the surprised captain. Thinking fast Inuyasha unsheathed the soldier's sword, pushing him safely out of the way and stabbed the creature through the head as it lunged forward. The Doll let out one last pained scream as it finally died, its fake glass eyes rolling up in its head. "That was close", the captain's eyes were wide with shock at how easily Lord Inuyasha dispatched the monster saving his life.

"Are you hurt?" Inuyasha asked.

"N-no your highness, thank you your highness", the man stood up and bowed gratefully. It was then they noticed the small possibly ten year old boy standing by the fountain watching them. He had brown hair that reached passed his neck with bangs that covered his left eye. The boy was dressed in a white dress shirt with brown vest, matching pants and shoes. Inuyasha noticed the starry eyed look of awe on the boy's face.

"That was amazing!" The boy shouted.

'Here we go', Inuyasha approached the boy that he realized had seen the whole thing. First Kagome's younger brother developed some sort of hero worship of him and now it looked like this boy was going the same route. "Who are you young man?" The boy smiled widely and held his hand out for the taller man.

"My name's Percival, but my big brother calls me Percy", he said with. "What's your name sir?" Inuyasha firmly shook the offered hand, impressed by the boy's manners.

"Inuyasha", he didn't bother introducing himself as a lord, Percy was just a child, one that didn't need to worry about such formalities in life yet.

"That's a neat name, I-nu-ya-sha", Percy sounded it out easily enough.

"Shouldn't you be home Percival, its late and as you can see the streets are dangerous", Inuyasha glanced over to the Doll's carcass as the soldiers tried to get the other half of its body out of the fountain to transport it somewhere else.

"Mother says not to, but big brother Ed lets me go out and play, he doesn't tell mother", Percy explained.

"Captain!" Inuyasha shouted gaining the attention of the man he just saved.

"Yes your highness", the captain stopped directing the men and marched over to the lord.

"This is Percival, make sure he gets home safely", these weren't his soldiers to command, but he be damned if this boy got killed by one of these doll monsters.

"As you wish my lord, I'll have two of my men escort him home", the captain promised

"Run along now Percival, it was nice meeting you", Inuyasha patted the boy on the head.

"Wow you're a lord", Percy exclaimed with shock and awe as he was escorted away. In the distance hidden in the darkness of a nearby alley a hooded figure wearing a brown cloak and porcelain mask watched silently. He had seen his poor creation get gunned down by those barbarian soldiers and then cut down by this silver haired godly looking man.

'So that's Lord Inuyasha', the figure began formulating a plan in its head. 'He's strong', yes very strong indeed.

TWO DAYS LATER

"Alright that's finished", Kagome sighed finishing the last of her new mortal enemy, paperwork. Seriously, how did Inuyasha do this for decades without going insane? "I'll have to interrogate him when he gets back and learn his secret technique to this", she smiled a fake diabolical smile.

"Miss Higurashi", Kanna spoke up with a soft whisper.

"I said you can call me Kagome Kanna", the girl's white rabbit ears seemed to droop in confusion, but her face remained impassive as usual. Inuyasha said she was originally a rabbit that he found injured in the castle garden that he then transfigured into a girl. So where did that lackluster personality come from Kagome wondered.

"You have two letters that came urgent with the carriage", Kanna said handing her the envelopes.

"Inuyasha's flying carriage came back without him, I wonder why?" That seemed odd. Picking up the envelope on top she paused when she noticed the royal seal of Queensland. She hesitantly opened and read it.

 _Dear Kagome Higurashi,_

 _It has come to the attention of myself and my court that your out of country passport has expired. I am also aware that you wish to continue living in the kingdom of Lunaria. Luckily your queen has no wish to make this a problem for you or Lord Inuyasha as both of us are willing to grant you dual citizenship for both of our countries. However your presence is required immediately to finalize the arrangement and sign the proper documents. I hope to see you soon._

 _Her Majesty Queen Sango_

'That's surprisingly generous of the queen', Kagome was indeed surprised, she didn't even realize her passport had long since expired from when it was approved for travel almost a year ago. Opening the next letter she immediately recognized Inuyasha's hand writing.

 _Kagome,_

 _I'm so sorry. I tried to keep you out of this affair, but Sango made a good point that Jutaria wont stop bringing you up unless this is taken care of as soon as possible. I know she sent you a letter along with mine concerning this matter requesting your presence. As much as I would like to put this off until the meetings with Jutaria are over, I can't. They made subtle threat towards you, they thought they could perhaps use an ordinary citizen as a chess piece. Needless to say Sango and I didn't appreciate it and were forced to immediately file for dual citizenship. Don't worry, I'm not being strong armed into a deal or bargain, I'm too smart for that. The Queen is willing to cooperate with us and permantly silenced the matter much to those parliament bastards ire. You should have seen the looks on those idiots' faces when they realized they had nothing to bargain with._

 _I sent the carriage back to transport you to Queensland. Once we get this out of the way I'm sure you'd be free to visit your family while I finish up the talks with Jutaria. Tell Koga to send guards with you. There are dangerous things happening in the capital that Sango assured me were being taken care of, but I still want you to be as safe as possible._

 _With Love,_

 _Inuyasha_

"He's as sweet as ever", Kagome smiled reading how much he cared for her.

"What's sweet?" Kanna asked emotionlessly startling the woman.

"Oh! Sorry I forgot you were still here", she apologized. Just then Koga walked into the office holding his own envelope.

"You got a letter from his highness too I see", he said walking over to his desk.

"What's yours say?" Kagome asked.

"He just wants me to take over your duties and order a couple of my men to protect you during your trip", Koga shrugged pocketing the letter. 'And to pack a certain weapon without Kagome letting Kagome know', he kept that last part to himself as ordered in the letter. Best not her worry why Inuyasha might need it.

'Still I wonder what could be so dangerous that he thinks he might need his sword', the possibilities had him a bit worried for his friend.

"I better start packing, I'll leave tomorrow morning", Kagome stood up from the desk. She was happy that she would get to see Inuyasha sooner than expected and get to see her family again. One of the things she loved about Inuyasha was that he may be very possessive of her, but he wasn't restricting her freedom or keeping her all to himself. He was a very kind person though he could be a bit stubborn sometimes.

Kagome once asked Inuyasha why he didn't just act like that out and in public and he said, 'Being openly kind was what got my father killed because the rebels mistook it for weakness'. He claimed that putting on a cold yet strong front was what held his kingdom together and put down the uprisings once and for all.

'There is strength in kindness, I think Inuyasha doesn't fully understand that'

* * *

 **Another chapter down. Six or seven more to go. I've actually already started writing the next chapter as I'm posting this so I might, MIGHT, have it out quicker.**

 **Fun fact, Percival is actually the name of the character that Inuyasha is based off from my original story that I used to make this fic. Lord Brom is what the prince is called but his full name is Percival Alderon Brom, Percy later in the story. Kagome's is based off a character called Katrina Shelley, Kat later in the story. In case anyone was curious why I put attention on a random boy.**

 **More of the Dolls have been revealed. For those wondering, yes they were people. The Doll Maker is killing citizens of Sango's country and using them for spare parts to construct his Dolls, but how is he animating them? You'll find out soon enough.**

 **Thanks for reading.**


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5: HERE COME THE DOLLS**

"You seem in a better mood", Sango spoke while having a pleasant lunch with Inuyasha.

"Do I?" Inuyasha asked with a stoic face.

"Yes and you seem to be watching the sky a lot today, I wonder why that is", she smiled knowingly at him.

"Is it that Kagome woman he likes so much, you're expecting her right?", Shiori, Kohaku's new wife blurted out. Her husband face palmed, he loved her dearly but she could be incredibly blunt sometimes.

"She's right", Inuyasha saw the embarrassment on the young man's face and decided to save him from any further by changing the topic. "May I ask the time your majesty", Inuyasha questioned.

"Half past noon", Sango told him.

"Why don't you carry a pocket watch your highness?" Shiori asked hoping that didn't come off as offensive.

"I'm about a century old young lady, time doesn't hold that much meaning to me anymore", Inuyasha answered her question. He already explained to them that his age froze once he reached maturity, a side effect of his magical power so he could always control it properly. He wasn't immortal, he could still die, but he didn't age like a normal human anymore.

"So how do you keep track of your daily schedule?" Sango was the one to question him this time.

"I use my head", Inuyasha pointed at his skull. "Also the position of the sun in the sky", as he tried to explain it Kilala came in to report that a flying carriage was spotted descending to the palace. "Excuse me", Inuyasha politely left the room and quickly headed to the front entrance.

"I supposed I should be there to greet our next guest" Sango stood up from the table and followed after the lord.

"Let's go see!" Shiori grabbed her new husbands hand and took off after her sister in law. Out in the front entrance the carriage landed right before Inuyasha, the wings turning back into wheels. The door opened and out walked Kagome wearing a pretty off-white dress. As soon as she spotted Inuyasha waiting she immediately rushed over to hug him.

"Wow! It hasn't even been a full week", Inuyasha remarked with a small blush while hugging her back.

"I still missed you", Kagome held him tighter.

"Me too, sorry again about dragging you into this", he tilted her head up and was about to kiss her when someone interrupted them by clearing their throat.

"Ahem!" Sango stood behind Inuyasha looking as regal as ever. The couple both turned red with embarrassment at almost making out in front of the queen. "It's a pleasure to have you here again Miss Higurashi"

"It's a pleasure to be here your majesty", Kagome let go of her prince and bowed.

"So this is the Queensland, I expected more", a familiar cocky voice said from the other side of the carriage. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow in question and looked to Kagome who smiled apologetically.

"I expect an explanation!" Inuyasha commanded in an angry tone. Koga walked around the carriage dressed in his normal armor and black cape smirking at all the scared looking guards who were surprised to see a tall feral looking man with furry brown ears, clawed fingers and fangs in his mouth.

"Whoa easy your highness I can explain", Koga put his hands up in defense. Seeing his friend and lord still looking pissed. "Kagome you better explain" he quickly used her as a scapegoat.

"Why me?" Kagome looked back and forth between them.

"Because he loves you and won't turn you into a tea kettle", Koga took a cautious step back.

"Fine, Inuyasha", Kagome turned to him and like usual his golden eyes softened when he looked at her. "Before we left the castle we had a visitor"

"Who?"

"Your mother", Kagome smiled at him. "We told her what was going on and she agreed to watch after the kingdom while Koga and I came here".

"Yeah who better to guard your future wife then your most trusted general", Koga chimed in hoping not to make him any angrier than he already was. Everyone held their breath wondering if this was the point that Inuyasha unleashed his legendary temper.

"I see, well I completely understand", he said calmly and like the tension vanished.

"You're not mad?" Kagome cocked her head in confusion.

"Why would I be? Sure my orders weren't completely followed but my mother used to manage the kingdom when father was away. I trust her and can see your reasoning", Inuyasha took Kagome's hand and lead her up the steps of the palace.

"That was...interesting", Sango said leading the couple inside.

"And you thought he'd be mad", Kagome said looking back a t Koga. "By the way where's Shippou?"

"He's exploring the palace", Inuyasha told her. "He refused to leave his quarters so I ordered him to go out and do something"

"How nice of you", Kagome said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes at him.

"It's not healthy to hide all the time", he said causing both Kagome and Koga to look at him as if he was crazy. Hiding himself is what he used to do for the past several decades. Somethings do change it turns out.

"Shall I assume that you and Miss Higurashi will share a room again", Sango interrupted them giving them a friendly wink. It seems Miroku was rubbing off on her.

"Of course she is", Inuyasha told the queen.

"Don't I get a say?" Kagome asked.

"Apparently not", Koga chuckled.

Once they reached the guest room Sango bid them farewell and that she'd see them at dinner tonight. Kagome walked inside eager to relax after the trip it took to get here. Inuyasha stayed out in the hall so he could talk to his second in command.

"Did you bring what I asked for?" Inuyasha questioned quietly.

"Yeah, your bastard sword zapped me when I touched it, you didn't say anything about that in the letter", the wolf leader complained. "Why do you need it anyway? Do you plan on going to war with these Jutaria bastards?"

"Please, we could crush them with half our forces if we wanted to", Inuyasha scoffed, if he truly wanted that country destroyed it would have been a long time ago, but no that would make him out to be the villain when he wasn't. "There's something strange going on this kingdom", he then told Koga about the doll creature he encountered a few days ago, and about the many disappearances.

"So are we going to help?"

"No, it's not our business", Inuyasha said rather apathetically. "I just want my sword as a precaution, I have no wish to use it though, but if Sango's problem becomes mine then I will get involved"

"A lord first and a man second I see", Koga gave a disappointed look, it seems somethings still didn't change.

"Don't give me that look, her men can handle this", Inuyasha didn't bother with any more excuses.

"If you say so", Koga sighed sadly.

LATER

"That was…amazing", Kagome said between breaths snuggling her naked body against Inuyasha's. They just spent the last hour and a half showing how much they missed each other. In multiple positions.

"I thought you said last time we were here that it would be disrespectful to make love in the queen's castle?" Inuyasha said while wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Well…your friends with her now so I guess it's okay", Kagome came up with an excuse, not willing to admit that she just missed being ravished by her prince.

"Whatever you say", Inuyasha chuckled lightly while kissing her neck. As they were enjoying laying they in each other's arms a knock on the door to their room caught their attention.

"Lord Inuyasha", the voice of Kilala, Sango's personal assistant. "Will you and Miss Higurashi be joining her majesty for dinner?" The realization that they were very late for dinner made them jump from the bed and quickly put their clothes back.

"Dammit!" They both cursed.

MEANWHILE

"I don't think they're coming to dinner your majesty", Koga smirked at the queen while he sat at his given place at the long table. Her brother and his wife were there, along with Miroku as an invited representative from Jutaria. The only ones missing from the table were Lord Inuyasha and Kagome. Those two were busy, so to speak, alone in their room.

"They were only separated for less than a week", Sango was truly surprised at how attached Inuyasha was to her. This went beyond normal infatuation.

"Funny isn't it", Miroku began while taking a sip of his wine. "They're not even married yet and they're already in the honey moon phase", he smirked suggestively.

"So Koga, how did you end up in Inuyasha's employ", Sango quickly changed the subject seeing that Miroku was up to his usual tricks.

"I was and still am the alpha of my pack", he said pointing at the wolf ears on his head. "Inuyasha used his power to turn me into a man and offered food and shelter in his kingdom for me and the rest of my wolves and in return we become his loyal soldiers"

"I see you took the deal", Miroku commented.

"Of course, as the leader I had a whole pack to look out for", Koga told them. "Turned out great, Inuyasha takes good care of us, money, food, barracks, and medical checkups regularly".

"So he can turn animals into people?" Miroku questioned. He was intrigued about his powers and wanted to know more. Just what else could Inuyasha do?

"He can pretty much do anything with his power, the head seamstress Kagura was originally a falcon, the girl in charge of the library and record keeping, Kanna was a rabbit that Inuyasha found injured in the garden", Koga explained.

"A rabbit", Shiori perked up at that, she had thing for bunny rabbits. Always drawing them in her sketchbook.

"Yeah, you'd probably like her, you have the same white hair she does", Koga smiled at the young woman.

"So he can transform people and objects at will into whatever he wants, limitlessly", Sango said making mental notes of this.

"Yup! No limits", Koga took sip of his drink suddenly remembering something. "He can also change the weather", Miroku choked on his food and Sango gasped in surprise.

"The weather you say?" The queen realized the implications behind that. If he wanted to Inuyasha could create a storm and wipe out whole towns with the flick of his wrist if he wanted. That was a scary thought.

"His power effects everything of this world, even the sky is pretty much his to play with", the wolf man smirked seeing their nervous faces. Kilala quickly came running into the dining hall, rushing to her queen's side.

"They're here", the blonde assistant whispered to her with a small blush on her cheeks. A few moments later Inuyasha came in with his hair a bit of a mess, using his fingers to try and tame the unruly silver locks back into submission. Kagome followed behind him looking quite embarrassed to be late to dinner. The interesting thing was that their clothes looked so hastily thrown on that it was completely obvious what the two had been doing before Kilala went to fetch them.

"Ah your highness, you're joining us for dinner after all", Koga commented with amusement in his eyes. "Though it looks like you started with dessert first", he snickered seeing Kagome flush and look away. Sometimes it was too easy to make them squirm.

"You shouldn't spoil your appetite like that", Miroku chastised equally amused. Ignoring them with an angry huff Inuyasha bowed politely to Sango.

"My apologies your majesty, we lost track of time", Kagome did the same and followed him to their seats. The rest of the dinner was silent and awkward with everyone giving subtle glances towards the couple. Finally it was over, however the queen wanted to have words with Kagome in privacy.

"Kagome could you please stay behind", Sango asked.

"Oh um, of course your majesty", Kagome smiled nervously wondering what the queen wanted to speak to her about. Inuyasha gave her one more look before leaving. This conversation wasn't meant for him apparently. When the room was empty save for the two of them she finally spoke.

"So…how is he?" Sango questioned.

"I'm sorry?" Kagome didn't realize what she was asking.

"Inuyasha. How is he? Does he treat you well?" She asked again with more enthusiasm.

"Yeah, he treats me well, better than that even", Kagome admitted. Though he could be a bit possessive sometimes. "He's not perfect, this whole relationship thing is still new for him"

"How do you mean?" Sango wondered. Kagome for some reason felt comfortable enough to talk about this. Speaking with the queen felt like speaking to a close friend, she had that effect.

"Sometimes he does things for me without asking, like a while back right after we started seeing each other he moved all my things into his bedroom", she sighed remembering how annoying that was when he just assumed that they would share the same room from then on. Well to be fair if Inuyasha did ask she would have agreed anyway, but it was the principle that mattered.

"That's nothing", Sango chuckled. "This one time Miroku actually took my…." Kagome's eyes widened in surprise. Those two were seeing each other. The queen gasped realizing her momentary slip of the tongue.

"You and Sir Miroku, your majesty?" Kagome had no idea.

"Please don't tell anyone", Sango flushed with embarrassment. "And yes, we've been seeing each other secretly for years now"

"But why the secret?" the other woman asked.

"Politics, the bane of every kingdom and country is the real issue", Sango sighed unhappily. "We're trying to make it work. Miroku maybe a former knight, well you know how it is, he's not royalty and all that nonsense", she looked over at the younger woman. "You're lucky Kagome, Inuyasha said to me that there are no such problems with his kingdom, he can marry whoever he wants", Kagome absentmindedly touched the ring on her finger. The one that Inuyasha gave her months ago when he proposed to her. She hadn't said yes yet, but she was close according to the castle staff that seemed to enjoy watching their relationship unfold and progress like some sort of show. It certainly helped that Inuyasha stepped up his game to impress and woo her. Going out of his way to do nice things for her like treating to dinner, presenting her with nice clothes and dresses, and not to mention sending her to the spa which she didn't even know existed in the castle. He was even treating his staff with more respect in an effort to show her how much he had really changed and that his kindness wasn't just reserved for her. Inuyasha still picked on Shippou though, so that hadn't really changed.

"Yeah…I guess I am", Kagome smiled looking at the beautiful handmade ring he let her keep until she made up her mind. They continued talking about their respective love lives until a group of soldiers along with Kilala came barging into the dining hall.

"Your majesty, we have a problem", the captain said almost frantically.

"What's happening?" Sango asked her men.

"The city is under attack!"

OUTSIDE ON THE STREETS

"How repulsive", a hooded figure said to himself with a hiss. He walked in between the crowds of people unnoticed by all. People rarely noticed what was right in front of them even when it was something that meant harm.

'Disgusting vile things', the cloaked man sneered walking past everyone. 'All of them, so imperfect, so ugly'. The man made his way to an abandoned building and quietly slipped inside. 'This world is so ugly', making his way up the steps until he reached the roof.

"I'll make a new world, a perfect world", the man stood on the roof looking down on the streets of the capital city. "I will have perfection", behind the man stood several deformed mechanical creatures. "Go now. Bring me the one called Inuyasha", he ordered his creations. The dolls leaped from the roof down to the streets bellow. One of them shaped like some sort of mechanical spider let out a loud ear piercing screech. At the sound more and more dolls emerged from the alleys and sewers of the capital city and began attacking the horrified citizens. The part flesh part clockwork creatures moved and attacked indiscriminately with one goal in mind, to lure out and capture the one called Inuyasha and bring him to their father.

The soldiers fought with swords and rifles, but were still being overwhelmed by the army of monstrosities. Citizens were quickly evacuated, some were told to stay locked into their homes, not that it would do any good against the dolls.

BACK AT THE CASTLE

"Hm, quite a mess Sango's got on her hands here", Inuyasha commented. He stood on the balcony to his guest room watching the resulting chaos caused by the sudden doll invasion.

"This is insane!" Kagome shouted watching these monsters wreak havoc on the streets of the capital.

"Her soldiers aren't doing so well", he watched a group pinned down by a building, surrounded with no escape. Kagome bit her bottom lip, nervous and afraid. She wanted, no needed, to ask Inuyasha something. Something she knew that he didn't want to do, but it was the right thing to do. Kagome knew that he is a good man, if she just asked him to help these people, would he do it?

"Inuyasha, I know you don't want to get involved but could you please, just this once, for me….", she turned to look at him, but he was nowhere to be seen. Instead Koga was standing by the door to the balcony. "Where did he go?"

"Oh him? He left before you started to ask him to help", Koga shrugged. "He said something about putting a stop to this madness", he chuckled seeing the surprise on her face. "I guess he's a good man after all"

"Aren't you going with him?" Kagome questioned.

"I'm under orders to protect you", he went over to the edge to stand next to her. "This is going to be quite the show, you haven't seen him fight yet have you?"

"No, not really", Kagome can't remember seeing Inuyasha fight outside of a spar with his second in command.

"Then sit back and enjoy", he grabbed a nearby chair and propped his feet up on the rails.

ON THE STREETS

"They keep coming!" A group of soldiers managed to back themselves into an alley, using their rifles to keep the dolls back, but with no way out it was only a matter of time before they ran out of ammo and were slaughtered by these things. One of the dolls, a long mechanical centipede creature with many real human arms, lunged out at the closest soldier. A poor young recruit that just so happened to run out of gunpowder. The soldier saw the end coming and held up his empty useless rifle to shield himself. The doll crashed to the left of him, head completely missing.

"What the!?" The other soldiers were just as surprised as him. Standing between them and the dolls was a tall silver haired man wearing a white loose billowing robe. He carried a single sword in his right hand that was stained with a black fluid like substance that the dolls seemed to use as blood.

"Stand back", Inuyasha turned away from them to face the dolls that were closing in the narrow alley. Raising the sword above his head he then quickly brought it down transforming the very air into a weapon. The power burst out in a flash of yellow light that tore through the dolls in seconds leaving nothing but pieces in its wake. The men stood slack jawed at what they just witnessed.

"What are you gawking at? Move!" Inuyasha snapped them back to attention and the soldiers took action, moving out of the alley to continue the fight for their city. "I had to get involved", he muttered to himself in an annoyed tone following the men at a slower pace. On the street another doll popped out of the shadows lunging towards Inuyasha. It was quickly bisected with a swift sword strike, letting out one last screech before dying. "I just had to", he complained again. Before he met Kagome he wouldn't have imagined doing something like this. Helping another kingdom, with nothing to gain, but out of the kindness of his heart. Or maybe out of mercy was a better excuse here.

"Too easy", Inuyasha effortlessly cut down another screaming doll. "Why are they attacking all of the sudden though?" Walking down the street he cut apart each of these things he came across. "If I had an army of monsters why would I wait until now to make my move?" Inuyasha summoned another wind attack that cleared away the horde of dolls in front of him as the realization struck his mind.

"After something", more came rushing at him screaming with metal claws raised to attack. Inuyasha made quick work of them by removing their heads from their shoulders. "Whoever's in charge of these things is after something, but what?" Another shaped like some sort of hideous clown tried to sneak up on him. Inuyasha didn't even look back as he stabbed his blade in the creature's stomach and drew it upwards, slicing the doll in half down the middle spilling shards of porcelain, cogs, springs and black blood on the ground.

Inuyasha walked down the street at an almost casual pace. Another group of dolls stood in his path. He threw his sword at the one in the middle, before it was impaled Inuyasha was already moving. He kicked the first one in his way, then broke another's mechanical arm right off, dodged a swipe for his head and landed a solid punch in another doll's chest. Making it to the one in the middle Inuyasha ripped his sword from the doll's chest shattering the porcelain that comprised its torso. Without even stopping he swung his blade in a wide arc, cutting the stunned dolls around him to pieces. They all fell over dead around him simultaneously while Inuyasha didn't even look winded. Glancing further down the road he locked eyes with another horde of dolls.

"Next!" Inuyasha shouted with a cocky smirk and a come here gesture with his hand. He didn't even spare a second look as one of the broken creatures behind him twitched in pain on the cobblestone street.

" _It…hurts….it hurts_ ", the doll could barely move its jaw. " _Why does…it hurt? Father_?"

* * *

 **Very delayed chapter, I'm sorry. I've been trying to work on all my stories at the same time and now have come to realize how bad an idea that was. I'm just not getting any done. What I'm doing now is posting a new chapter for all my in progress stories then I'll make a decision on which one to focus on for a while. Maybe this one, because its only going to be about thirteen chapters long.**

 **I wanted some action in this chapter, and not the other mind in the gutter type of action. I'm not good at fight scenes, but I do my best. I just had this cool image in my head of Inuyasha cutting his way through these doll monsters that I wanted to share with you guys. Next chapter will pick up where this fight left off.**

 **We also got more on the mysterious Dollmaker. Who is he? What is? Find out later down the road.**

 **Thanks for reading.**


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6: THE HERO**

 _A LONG TIME AGO_

" _Very good Inuyasha", Inutaisho said as he blocked his son's sword strike. A young fifteen year old Inuyasha swung his blade again, this time more aggressively. It seemed no matter how much he trained his father was always better than him. "Your letting your anger get to you again", he blocked another aggressive strike. "Calm your mind, you can't take this rage into battle", Inuyasha panted as his strength was beginning to wane._

" _It's too hard", the boy said between breaths. "I haven't landed a single blow"_

" _Your temper is the problem, you put too much power in your swings because your angry", Inutaisho explained by stating what was obvious. "You're angry because, you have yet to land a hit on me", Inuyasha huffed and looked away._

" _It's not my fault that you're a better swordsman then me", the prince scowled at his own failure._

" _Really now?" The king said with amusement. He lifted up his arm and revealed a cut on his forearm that was still dripping blood._

" _When did?" Inuyasha's golden eyes widened._

" _When your head was clear, when you moved with a calm purpose. That was when you cut me son", Inutaisho approached his boy. "You're already a fine swordsmen and a few years you'll probably surpass me", he ruffled Inuyasha's head of unruly hair that just refused to be tamed no matter how much his mother combed it. "When your reign in that temper of yours, there's no stopping you when you pick up a sword", which was true, they had been training for two hours and yet Inuyasha had never once asked for a break, he didn't think the boy even realized how much time had passed. A true prodigy._

 _PRESENT_

Inuyasha continued to cut his way through the living dolls. Not a single one of these monsters could put so much as a scratch on him. Even after all these years Inuyasha was not out of practice. He moved swiftly with precision and grace, just like his father trained him to do. None of these creatures stood a chance against him. The dolls screamed and hollered as they sliced apart.

"Is this it?" Inuyasha asked himself as he carved up a large doll that looked to be made of two people combined, spilling limbs, oil and cogs all over the streets. He thought these things would be tougher, but most of them fell apart and died after a few sword strikes. That's when realization hit him. Inuyasha had already noticed the differences and variations that the dolls possessed, but now he could clearly see a pattern.

The ones made entirely of non-organic parts, where flimsy and poorly put together. These creatures could barely walk right.

The ones made with various animal parts were small, but they seemed to move better and were a bit sturdier.

Then there were the dolls made with different combinations of human parts. Some with a few limbs, and some looked almost entirely human with just a few mechanical pieces built on to their bodies. These could actually fight and seemed to move more with purpose.

Whoever was making these monsters was getting better and better at constructing them with each victim they took. It disgusted him how this maniac was using people as practice for his twisted art.

A large monstrous doll picked up a carriage, surprising the lord with its strength, but only for a moment. As it hurled the carriage at him Inuyasha didn't even flinch, nor did he make a move to dodge it. He merely pointed his free hand at it and used his magical power to transform the carriage into a flock of crows before it reached him. The birds flew off blocking the creature's sight long enough for Inuyasha to charge forward.

"I would very much like to meet the one who made you", Inuyasha said as he cut the large hulking doll in half at the waist. Eventually he made his way to the fountain square where he first encountered one of these dolls the other day. The entire area was crawling with these things now, in fact they seemed to be concentrated here. In the center near the fountain, a handful of royal soldiers remained fighting for their lives and city.

"Get down!" He commanded. The soldiers quickly obeyed, hitting the floor just as Inuyasha's wind scar attack tore over their heads, obliterating the horde of dolls scattering their parts all over the square.

"Did you see that!?" One of the men shouted in awe of the destruction caused by the lord.

"He took at those monsters like it was nothing", another said watching the prince walk over to them cutting apart any doll that was still hanging on to life.

"Is anybody hurt?" Inuyasha asked looking them over.

"My arm was broken when one of those things tried to grab me", one soldier said while cradling his left arm.

"Nothing life threatening then", Inuyasha sighed in relief. No one was seriously injured, that was good. Just as he was seemingly distracted one of the dolls shaped like some sort of bizarre harlequin twitched on the floor and rose back up still alive directly behind the lord. One of the soldiers tried to warn, but Inuyasha quickly turned and sliced the doll down the middle in one swift strike.

" **Uhhhhhh…..",** the creature cried as the two halves split apart and fell to the ground. Inuyasha walked around the square finishing the dolls off one by one.

" **Pain",** Inuyasha spotted a doll that mostly resembled a man. The only thing missing was the head, it having been replaced by a large gramophone horn that its voice was emanating from. **"P-P-Pain",** the autonomous voice said as it tried to crawl away, its legs having been blown away by Inuyasha's wind scar. **"Pain, pain, pain",** Inuyasha walked over to creature and flipped it over on its back with his foot. **"Pain…hurt…agony…Pain, Pain, Pain",** the doll was stuck on a loop repeating the word pain over and over. The lord of Lunaria saw the mechanism in its chest the seemed to act the source of the voice and as a rudimentary clockwork heart. Using his sword ne quickly stabbed it through its 'heart' and ended its cries.

"That's it then", Inuyasha looked around seeing the battle was over, sooner than he thought. He felt a tad bit disappointed. A small part of him was hoping for a good fight, the only person who ever brought a challenge to him nowadays was his second in command Koga.

On top of a nearby building a hooded masked figure watched the unaware lord. _"Yes…he's perfect_ ", he whispered before quietly slipping away from the scene.

"WOW!" A childish voice shouted momentarily startling Inuyasha. He looked over to an over turned carriage and spotted the same boy he met here the other day hiding behind it.

"Percival was it?" Inuyasha approached the young man. "What are you doing out here? Its not safe", he chastised.

"What? I'm fine see", Percival spun around showing that he was indeed unharmed. "I was out with my big brother when we were attacked by those monsters", he sounded frightened. "Brother told me to hide while he went to get help"

"Do you remember where this was?" Inuyasha knelt down to his level as he asked where this happened.

"Yeah just a few blocks over that way", Percy pointed down one of the cobblestone streets. "Can you help me find him?" He asked. "I don't know what I'd do without my brother", he started tearing up.

"I need to stay here Percival", getting an idea he looked over to one of the men that he saved. "Soldier!" Inuyasha called.

"Yes Lord Inuyasha!" The man rushed over.

"Can you help this boy find his brother and escort them home?" He asked.

"Yes, right away Lord Inuyasha" The man bowed twice, showing respect to the one that saved his life minutes ago. "And thank you again my lord for saving me and my comrades", Inuyasha nodded and faced the boy.

"This man will help you Percival" He said ruffling the kid's shaggy brown hair.

"Thank you Lord Inuyasha", the boy beamed him a smile and bowed his head. They then quietly left to find his brother.

"This was what we call in Lunaria a complete _Sha-ak Te (_ fuck up)", Inuyasha said once they were out of earshot. "Your Queen assured me this situation was under control", he sounded angry as he looked at the carnage. "You call this under control?"

"We had no way of knowing an attack like this would or possibly could happen within the capital city", one of the captains spoke up in defense. "These dolls just appeared out of nowhere", another thought occurred to Inuyasha.

"What if they were already here?" The lord asked ominously.

"Your highness?" The captain looked anxious.

"What if they are hiding somewhere in the capital? Right under your noses", Inuyasha stared. "If I were you I would look into that" and with that he sheathed his sword and walked away. He paused when a crowd of citizens approached from the main street having sensed the conflict was over. The lord was about to walk away when the people approached him, then bowed.

"What do you all think you're doing?" Inuyasha watched them curiously.

"Oh great Lord of Lunaria", one bowing citizen said.

"Ruler of the northern countries", another said with reverence.

"Magical Prince of…" he was cut off by Inuyasha yelling 'Enough!'

"I really don't care for sucking up", Inuyasha snapped at them, having dealt with this from his own people long ago. "What is it you want?"

"We want nothing your lordship", one citizen spoke quietly. "We just wanted to pay respects and say thank you for saving us".

"I didn't save you", Inuyasha corrected rather coldly. "These dolls were annoying me so I took care of them", he lied.

"Never the less your highness, what you did saved many of us from mass slaughter", A man said as he stood up. "You're a hero to us", those words made him pause. Inuyasha thought back to when Ryukotsei was freed and attacked his kingdom, his people had referred to him as a hero for what he did. It was surprising to hear the same thing come from people who didn't even really know him like they did. Inuyasha walked off, not confirming or denying their view of him. He decided to follow the soldiers that were carrying off the dead dolls, hoping that he could piece together the mystery of who was making them.

THE NEXT MORNING

"Such a disaster", Miroku sighed taking a sip of his tea. He looked tired and disheveled having not had any sleep the previous night. It was impossible to, especially with all the chaos going on outside. Not only that, but Miroku felt terrible being holed up in his hotel suite with all the other parliament member while Sango's soldiers and people were fighting and dying out in the streets.

The biggest shock of all though was the gossip floating around how the Lord of Lunaria stepped into the battle alone and single handedly took down these dolls with only a sword in hand. Everyone was talking about, the people, the journalists were having a field day with it and his own fellow parliament members were running from room to room to discuss it with each other.

No wonder Inuyasha didn't bring any soldiers or guard with him when he arrived in Queensland. The man didn't need any, he was a force not to trifle with all on his own. What an ally he would make. If only Miroku could just get a chance to speak with him privately one on one, he could perhaps get him to agree to some form of an alliance, no matter how small it may be. After all, a united world was the best path to peace. But how to go about it? That was the real question.

Inuyasha was obviously a warrior in addition to being a lord. Perhaps that was the best way to reach him. From one warrior to another. Miroku hasn't been a knight for five years, he was a bit rusty in that field, but he didn't forget what he did and trained for during that dark time in his life.

THE HOSPITAL

"Bloody mess" Inuyasha scowled looking into the infirmary that housed those who were injured during the attack. Civilians and soldiers alike. Turning around he headed downstairs to the mortuary where the dead were being taken to, more specifically the dolls that were slayed.

"You sick freak!" He heard someone yell when he arrived at the doors to the mortuary.

"There's nothing sick about it", a slightly flamboyant voice spoke from the other side. "I'm merely suggesting we perform a dissection on the bodies to find out exactly how they work", Inuyasha opened the door to find a long and wide hallway with tables on both sides currently being occupied by the deceased dolls, some of which he remembered cutting apart from the previous night. At one of the tables stood a few captains arguing with a young man dressed in colorful purple and blue eastern robes, wooden sandals, and wearing feminine makeup.

"These used to be people, we shouldn't be so quick to carve them up", the young man silenced him with a raised hand.

"This is all part of the investigation", he argued. "I have the Queen's permission to conduct any way I see fit", he smirked smugly.

"What seems to be the problem?" Inuyasha asked getting everyone's attention as he strode over to the table.

"Ah! The famous Lord Inuyasha, a pleasure to meet you", the flamboyant man smiled clearly delighted. "I must say you're much more handsome in person", he said with a short bow.

"And you are?" Inuyasha raised a brow at the man's behavior.

"Forgive me for my impertinence. My name is Byakuya, I'm a private detective hired by her majesty Queen Sango", he bowed again this time more respectfully.

"Good, someone who should have some answers", Inuyasha said while crossing his crossing his arms. "What do you got?" Byakuya smirked and took the opportunity to show off his intelligence.

"We'll I've come to the conclusion based on the faces and humanoid shapes of these doll creatures that they used to-"

"They are what's left of the missing people" Inuyasha cut him off. "I had already figured that out" Byakuya's smile dropped, he did not expect that.

"We'll…yes your right your highness, but I have also concluded based on the functional variances of these dolls that whoever is making them-", he was cut off again.

"Is getting better at it, that's why he's kidnapped and mutilated so many. For practice", Inuyasha said distastefully.

"Y-Yes", Byakuya was quite flustered, normally the people around here were not up to his speed.

"Please tell me something I don't already know", the lord wanted some answers from this so called private detective.

"Um…yes. Based on the pattern of attack and behavior of these creatures it appears that they were looking for something", Byakuya explained.

"Any idea as to what they were looking for?" Inuyasha questioned.

"No…unfortunately", the detective looked away embarrassed.

"A lot of good you are", Inuyasha scoffed and turned away to take a walk past the other slabs examining each of the dead dolls. He noticed that some had missing posters of different people on the tables next to them. "What's with the posters?" One of the captains walked up to him.

"We managed to figure out based on some of the faces and features, who some of these dolls used to be", He said grimly. Inuyasha paused when he spotted the poster for a little girl next to some hideous abomination that looked like a small bear. He wasn't sure how they though the dead creature was the little girl until he got a good look at her picture. In it she was holding a stuffed teddy bear, Inuyasha realized that it looked almost the same as the bear in the photograph and whoever did this decided to make the girl into a parody of her favorite toy.

"Disgusting", Inuyasha looked away. "Whoever did this is more of monster than these things", having enough of the sight and stench of these vile things he quickly left this obscene morgue, stepping out into the hall. He took a deep breath to compose himself.

"Lord Inuyasha!" He turned to see the Sango the ruler of this kingdom making her way down the hall towards him in a rush. "Are you alright?"

"I'm just fine", Inuyasha told her.

"That's good to hear", Sango sighed in relief. "You risked your life to protect my citizens. I'd feel terrible if you were injured in anyway"

"It was nothing, those monsters were weak compared to what I've fought in the past", the lord said with a slight air of arrogance. "No offense your majesty, but your soldiers are not as strong as I imagined"

"Well forgive us for not having a precedent for a horde of monsters attacking the capital", Sango spoke with sarcasm.

"Always expect the worst from an enemy", Inuyasha argued back. "I learned that lesson the hard way several times".

"I can see that", she figured something must happened to make him so cold and untrusting of people he didn't know. "But on behalf of my people I would like to personally thank you for your assistance", Inuyasha watched her hold her hand out in thanks before nodding and taking her hand himself.

"Your welcome", he said softly as he released her hand.

"Inuyasha!" He turned hearing another familiar voice, spotting both Kagome and his second in command Koga at the end of the hall. Just what were they doing here? Kagome rushed over and embraced him. "Oof" Inuyasha almost fell back from the sudden hug. Okay so that's why.

"So…big hero now huh?" Koga grinned walking over to his friend.

"What are you barking about now?" Inuyasha rolled his eyes towards him, wrapping an arm around Kagome's waist.

"The people out in the city are speaking praise of how you saved them", Koga chuckled patting him on the shoulder. "Long flowing silvery hair, white robe and a single sword, wiped out those vicious doll creatures. That's the latest gossip out there"

"I don't care for gossip", Inuyasha tried to play it off.

"Couldn't settle for being the most popular bachelor back home, now you're working on this new country" The wolf man laughed. Inuyasha took his sheathed sword and tapped it to Koga's arm earning him a magical stinging shock.

"OW! Take a joke!" Koga grimaced holding the spot on his arm where he was zapped. Kagome giggled while watching them interact. They were about to leave when a woman and her husband came barging into the hall with a few soldiers trailing after them.

"Miss you can't go in there", the guard said.

"I want to see me daughter!" The woman shouted ignoring the man.

"We told you mam, her body is not in a condition you should see", the soldier tried to plead.

"I don't care! I need to see her", the woman paused seeing the queen in front of her then quickly bowed. "Your majesty! I'm so sorry for the intrusion, but I need to see my daughter", the woman cried tears of desperation. She was already told her little girl was dead, but she needed to see her body.

"I understand", Sango whispered with concern. "Unfortunately you wouldn't want to see what has happened to her body", she didn't know what the woman's daughter looked like exactly, but based on the appearance some of the dolls she witnessed being carted in, it wouldn't be a pretty sight. No mother should have to see their child mutilated beyond recognition. Inuyasha silently watched the conversation, then quickly went back through the doors that led to the large room where the dead dolls were being kept. Kagome wondered why he hurried off until he came back a moment later holding a missing person's poster.

"Excuse me miss. Was this your daughter?" Inuyasha showed her the flyer. The woman continued to weep as she nodded her head. "One moment please", the lord took the poster back and once again marched into the morgue. He came out a minute later with a wheeled stretcher being pushed behind him. The stretcher had a small body covered by a blanket upon it. The woman gasped seeing the hidden body knowing that this was her child.

"You", Inuyasha snapped his fingers at one of the guards. "Remove the sheet"

"Are you sure sir?" The man questioned.

"Yes, please remove it", Inuyasha gestured to the stretcher.

"Lord Inuyasha this isn't appropriate", Sango narrowed her eyes at him. Showing this woman her mutilated daughter was entirely cruel.

"Trust me", the lord didn't even hesitate as he stepped forward and removed the sheet himself. However instead of the disgusting patchwork of skin and clothe made to resemble a stuffed bear, there on the table laid the small girls body, exactly as she used to look.

"H-how?" Sango's eyes widened in realization, suddenly remembering the lord's magical gift.

"I think its best we take our leave", Inuyasha took Kagome's hand and walked away to give the grieving mother time alone with her deceased daughter. They were followed by Koga and Sango.

"That was very kind", Kagome said once they exited the hall. "What you just did"

"She wanted to see her child one last time so I gave her just that", Inuyasha tried to sound nonchalant, but he honestly felt sympathy for the woman.

"I never knew your power worked on dead people", Koga commented as he followed behind the couple.

"Is there no limit to what your magic can transform?" Sango asked standing next to the lord. Inuyasha turned and gave her a small smirk.

"I prefer to keep that a mystery", When they walked out of the hospital they were surprised to find a large crowd of people waiting for them.

THE DOLL WORKSHOP

In a secret room filled with books, papers various doll parts, and tools, the doll maker sat hunched over a desk scribbling away on a piece of scrap paper. He stared at a crude drawing of Inuyasha, then quickly drew a carriage next to him.

" _And in an instant",_ He then scratched out the carriage and drew a flock of birds. " _Into birds_ ", Pages lay scattered around him of the same sketch over and over again. He had spent the rest of the previous night and the entire morning pouring over what he witnessed Inuyasha do.

" _Carriage to birds, carriage to birds_ ", the doll maker repeated it a few more times scratching his head in confusion. How did Inuyasha do that? Then there was that burst of light and wind that tore apart his creations. How did he do that too? He suddenly jumped up in surprise, realization dawning on his pale face. Maybe this lord was like him. Maybe he had the 'gift' or something similar.

" _I'm not alone",_ the doll maker grinned happily with a small hint of malice.

* * *

 **And that's that. Once again I apology for the long wait. If I could write full time I would. This chapter was originally going to be longer, but I decided to cut out something and save it for the next chapter, because I felt it was too early for it.**

 **Here's a teaser:**

"What nonsense are you talking now?" Inuyasha paused and turned around to face the representative of Jutaria.

"You heard me the first time your highness", Miroku smirked confidently. "I'm challenging you to a duel", Inuyasha actually chuckled at that which was the first time any of the people there ever heard such a sound from him excluding Kagome and Koga.

"Do you have any idea what you're asking you fool?"

"Sometimes actions speak better than words your highness. Since my words have failed I must resort to actions to make you understand"

 **That will be in the next chapter.**

 **Is the doll maker perhaps a being similar to Inuyasha and his mother? Find out soon enough. He's not Byakuya, just want to say that before anyone gets the wrong idea. He's an OC that's all I'm saying.**

 **Thanks for reading.**


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